Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Sets New 52-Week High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $37.85 and last traded at $37.85, with a volume of 19208 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.41.

The specialty chemicals company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 5.69% and a return on equity of 24.28%. The business’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXTA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Axalta Coating Systems from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axalta Coating Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.30.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,599 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 0.4% during the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 110,555 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,778,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 9.0% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 6,450 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 276,369 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,504,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 90.2% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,546 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. 98.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axalta Coating Systems Trading Down 1.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $8.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.26 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.01.

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.