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

StockNews.com cut shares of Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA – Get Rating) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on AXTA. Citigroup upgraded shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $30.29 to $35.19 in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Axalta Coating Systems from $23.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. TheStreet upgraded Axalta Coating Systems from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Monday, January 23rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Axalta Coating Systems from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Axalta Coating Systems from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and boosted their price target for the company from $30.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Friday, February 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Axalta Coating Systems presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $31.45.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE AXTA opened at $29.53 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. Axalta Coating Systems has a 52-week low of $20.66 and a 52-week high of $32.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.94. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $28.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.11.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.02. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 3.92% and a return on equity of 23.50%. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.30 EPS. Axalta Coating Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Axalta Coating Systems will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axalta Coating Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 5,915.6% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 5,193,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $132,290,000 after acquiring an additional 5,107,608 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,883,465 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $302,672,000 after purchasing an additional 2,944,248 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems during the 4th quarter worth $53,517,000. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 17,088,246 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $360,949,000 after buying an additional 1,895,015 shares during the period. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 7,398,739 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $181,861,000 after buying an additional 1,420,653 shares during the period.

About Axalta Coating Systems

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Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. engages in the manufacture, marketing and distribution of coatings systems. It operates through the Performance Coatings and Mobility Coatings business segments. The Performance Coatings segment provides liquid and powder coatings solutions to a fragmented and local customer base.