Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,810,000 shares, a decrease of 8.6% from the March 15th total of 6,360,000 shares. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,950,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXTA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group cut shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $35.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Axalta Coating Systems presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.70.

Axalta Coating Systems Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of AXTA stock traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $31.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,217,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,918,927. The company’s fifty day moving average is $32.70 and its 200 day moving average is $31.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.46. Axalta Coating Systems has a fifty-two week low of $25.03 and a fifty-two week high of $34.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.51.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 5.16%. Axalta Coating Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Axalta Coating Systems will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axalta Coating Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXTA. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Axalta Coating Systems during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 47.7% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,046 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 12,022.2% in the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. 98.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axalta Coating Systems Company Profile

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd., through its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes high-performance coatings systems in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates through two segments, Performance Coatings and Mobility Coatings.