Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $40.38.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AXTA. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Axalta Coating Systems from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Axalta Coating Systems from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho set a $37.00 target price on Axalta Coating Systems in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Axalta Coating Systems from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 8th.

Axalta Coating Systems Price Performance

Axalta Coating Systems stock opened at $32.65 on Friday. Axalta Coating Systems has a one year low of $27.70 and a one year high of $41.66. The firm has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $32.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.44.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.05. Axalta Coating Systems had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 7.41%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. Axalta Coating Systems’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Axalta Coating Systems will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AXTA. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 11,757.1% in the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 830 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 105.9% in the 1st 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 increased its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 60.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 951.6% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 35.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,093 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.