Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Sets New 12-Month High at $37.49

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $37.49 and last traded at $37.47, with a volume of 1927812 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AXTA. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. KeyCorp raised their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Axalta Coating Systems from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Axalta Coating Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Axalta Coating Systems Trading Up 4.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $8.20 billion, a PE ratio of 32.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.26. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $35.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.50.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 5.69% and a return on equity of 24.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axalta Coating Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 2.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,763,601 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $817,230,000 after purchasing an additional 554,806 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 0.9% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 15,009,959 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $512,890,000 after acquiring an additional 137,209 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 5.6% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,403,246 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $355,479,000 after acquiring an additional 550,970 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,771,023 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $128,852,000 after purchasing an additional 302,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 63.8% during the first quarter. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,198,290 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $109,989,000 after buying an additional 1,245,223 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.