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

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

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on AXTA. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $41.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 company. According to 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 Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE AXTA traded down $1.05 on Friday, reaching $35.16. 729,658 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,912,918. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.46. Axalta Coating Systems has a fifty-two week low of $30.41 and a fifty-two week 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $35.92 and a 200 day moving average of $36.70.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 7.41% and a return on equity of 26.29%. Axalta Coating Systems'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 business posted $0.43 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Axalta Coating Systems will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Axalta Coating Systems

In other news, insider Troy D. Weaver sold 10,457 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,814,180.85. This trade represents a 12.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXTA. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,449 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $414,000 after purchasing an additional 2,898 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 48.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 168,187 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,087,000 after buying an additional 54,746 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 41.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,308 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $699,000 after buying an additional 5,667 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 25,605 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $926,000 after acquiring an additional 1,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $272,000. 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.