Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com lowered shares of Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Friday.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on AXTA. Barclays lifted their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Axalta Coating Systems in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $47.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axalta Coating Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.08.

Axalta Coating Systems Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:AXTA opened at $36.16 on Friday. Axalta Coating Systems has a 12-month low of $30.41 and a 12-month high of $41.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.70. The firm has a market cap of $7.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.46.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 7.41% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Axalta Coating Systems will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Axalta Coating Systems

In other news, insider Troy D. Weaver sold 10,457 shares of Axalta Coating Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,814,180.85. The trade was a 12.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axalta Coating Systems

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Axalta Coating Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $87,850,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 54.9% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,587,090 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $191,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,980,296 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Axalta Coating Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,215,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 144.7% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,950,902 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $66,760,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 988,397 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.