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

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

The specialty chemicals company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.35 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Axalta Coating Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.54.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 338 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 97,171 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,614,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 9,161 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 56,174 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,908,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the period. 98.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $32.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.82. The firm has a market cap of $7.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.05, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.51.

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.