Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $46.00 to $48.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Axalta Coating Systems traded as high as $40.53 and last traded at $40.41, with a volume of 243697 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $39.60.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on AXTA. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Axalta Coating Systems in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Mizuho raised their price target on Axalta Coating Systems from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Axalta Coating Systems from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axalta Coating Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.45.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axalta Coating Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new position in Axalta Coating Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,496,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 68.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 36,191 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,310,000 after buying an additional 14,704 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in Axalta Coating Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $214,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 2,096,790 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $75,883,000 after buying an additional 84,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 168.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,481 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after buying an additional 18,496 shares during the last quarter. 98.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axalta Coating Systems Price Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.51.

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

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.