Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Stock Price

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) had its target price trimmed by Citigroup from $35.00 to $34.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Axalta Coating Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays lowered their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Axalta Coating Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Axalta Coating Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.50.

Axalta Coating Systems Price Performance

NYSE:AXTA opened at $28.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $31.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.27. Axalta Coating Systems has a 12-month low of $27.70 and a 12-month high of $41.66.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 7.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Axalta Coating Systems will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axalta Coating Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,637,025 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $386,000,000 after acquiring an additional 356,143 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,321,994 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $387,439,000 after purchasing an additional 988,397 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 29.8% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,250,351 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $240,494,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663,261 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,730,406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $223,248,000 after purchasing an additional 132,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,140,945 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $137,344,000 after purchasing an additional 266,907 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.28% of the company’s stock.

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.