Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Rating Lowered to Neutral at Citigroup

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Citigroup from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $41.00 price objective on the specialty chemicals company's stock, down from their prior price objective of $45.00. Citigroup's target price suggests a potential upside of 17.11% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Axalta Coating Systems from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of 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. Finally, KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a research note on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.55.

Axalta Coating Systems Trading Down 3.8 %

Axalta Coating Systems stock traded down $1.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $35.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,929,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,990,925. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $38.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.33. Axalta Coating Systems has a 12 month low of $30.40 and a 12 month high of $41.65. The stock has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 6.22%. Axalta Coating Systems's quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Axalta Coating Systems will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Axalta Coating Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 89.7% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,733,703 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $93,411,000 after acquiring an additional 1,292,434 shares during the last quarter. Interval Partners LP boosted its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 716.6% in the 2nd quarter. Interval Partners LP now owns 1,224,961 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $41,857,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,961 shares in the last quarter. PointState Capital LP purchased a new stake in Axalta Coating Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,257,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,403,246 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $355,479,000 after purchasing an additional 550,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 59.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,329,700 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $45,436,000 after buying an additional 497,000 shares during the last quarter. 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.