Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Sets New 12-Month High After Strong Earnings

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $35.00 and last traded at $35.00, with a volume of 270646 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $34.21.

The specialty chemicals company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 5.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXTA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. UBS Group downgraded Axalta Coating Systems from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $35.00 to $36.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Axalta Coating Systems from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Axalta Coating Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.23.

Institutional Trading of Axalta Coating Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,657,696 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $125,292,000 after purchasing an additional 382,949 shares during the period. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 49.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP now owns 2,952,198 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $79,414,000 after purchasing an additional 974,973 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,470,860 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $362,366,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415,723 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,644,246 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $71,130,000 after purchasing an additional 272,455 shares during the period. Finally, Prospector Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 323,930 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $8,714,000 after purchasing an additional 29,930 shares during the period. 98.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axalta Coating Systems Trading Up 2.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $7.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.16, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96.

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.