Leeward Investments LLC MA Trims Stake in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA)

Leeward Investments LLC MA reduced its stake in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,084,064 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 18,628 shares during the period. Axalta Coating Systems makes up 1.7% of Leeward Investments LLC MA’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Leeward Investments LLC MA’s holdings in Axalta Coating Systems were worth $36,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 47.7% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,046 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,474 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. ASB Consultores LLC bought a new position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems in the 3rd quarter worth $202,000. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Axalta Coating Systems during the third quarter worth about $226,000. Finally, Custom Index Systems LLC bought a new position in Axalta Coating Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $251,000. 98.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Axalta Coating Systems stock opened at $31.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $32.66 and its 200-day moving average is $31.66. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has a one year low of $25.03 and a one year high of $34.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 5.16% and a return on equity of 20.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AXTA. Citigroup lifted their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Axalta Coating Systems in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group lowered Axalta Coating Systems from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $35.00 to $36.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.70.

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.