Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

AXTA has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $42.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Mizuho set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Axalta Coating Systems from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Axalta Coating Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.60.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of AXTA stock opened at $31.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.56, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. Axalta Coating Systems has a 52 week low of $27.70 and a 52 week high of $41.66.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.05. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 7.41% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Axalta Coating Systems will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axalta Coating Systems

In related news, insider Troy D. Weaver sold 10,457 shares of Axalta Coating Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.57, for a total transaction of $392,869.49. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,814,180.85. This trade represents a 12.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axalta Coating Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 116.3% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 824 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 11,757.1% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 830 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 105.9% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 949 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 60.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 35.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,093 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the period. 98.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Axalta Coating Systems

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.