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

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on AXTA. Mizuho reduced their price target on Axalta Coating Systems from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wolfe Research upgraded 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 note on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. KeyCorp restated 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 report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $47.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.08.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXTA opened at $37.11 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.55. The company has a market cap of $8.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 2.01. Axalta Coating Systems has a one year low of $30.41 and a one year high of $41.65.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.09. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 7.41% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Axalta Coating Systems will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Axalta Coating Systems news, insider Troy D. Weaver sold 10,457 shares of Axalta Coating Systems stock in a transaction on 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 owns 74,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available at 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 modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems during the 4th quarter worth about $87,850,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 54.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,980,296 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Axalta Coating Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $56,215,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 144.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,153,620 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised 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 worth $387,439,000 after buying an additional 988,397 shares in the last quarter. 98.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.