Evercore ISI Upgrades Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) to "Strong-Buy"

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Axalta Coating Systems from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Axalta Coating Systems from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axalta Coating Systems presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $42.45.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Performance

Axalta Coating Systems stock traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,309,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,024,540. Axalta Coating Systems has a 12-month low of $30.40 and a 12-month high of $40.91. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $36.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 2.00. The company has a market capitalization of $8.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.43, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axalta Coating Systems

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,822,955 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $246,923,000 after buying an additional 46,813 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 61.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 167,452 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $6,060,000 after purchasing an additional 63,874 shares during the last quarter. PointState Capital LP purchased a new stake in Axalta Coating Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,257,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems in the 3rd quarter worth $3,011,000. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems in the third quarter worth $41,000. 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.