Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Stock Price

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $45.00 to $42.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 41.27% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on AXTA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com cut Axalta Coating Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Axalta Coating Systems stock opened at $29.73 on Thursday. Axalta Coating Systems has a 1 year low of $28.95 and a 1 year high of $41.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.41 and its 200 day moving average is $36.46. The stock has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 7.41%. Axalta Coating Systems’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Axalta Coating Systems will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Troy D. Weaver sold 10,457 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,814,180.85. This represents a 12.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axalta Coating Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 116.3% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 824 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in Axalta Coating Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 60.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 35.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,093 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 156.4% in the 4th quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 2,238 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,365 shares in the last quarter. 98.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.