Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Price Target Cut to $42.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $45.00 to $42.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would indicate a potential upside of 42.14% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on AXTA. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho cut their target price on 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.00.

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Axalta Coating Systems Stock Down 0.6 %

AXTA traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $29.55. 4,785,296 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,009,310. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. Axalta Coating Systems has a 12-month low of $28.35 and a 12-month high of $41.66. The firm has a market cap of $6.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $35.41 and a 200 day moving average of $36.47.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.09. Axalta Coating Systems had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 7.41%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. Axalta Coating Systems's revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Axalta Coating Systems will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Troy D. Weaver sold 10,457 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,905 shares in the company, valued at $2,814,180.85. This represents a 12.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axalta Coating Systems

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AXTA. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 23,951 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $820,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,378 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,744 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,242 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Finally, Optas LLC grew its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 6,024 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.28% of the company's stock.

About Axalta Coating Systems

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.