Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $39.81 and last traded at $39.81, with a volume of 3113 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $38.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXTA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their price target 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. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.70.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $36.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AXTA. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,599 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $3,778,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 30.2% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,964 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 11,162 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 6,450 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. 98.28% of the stock is currently owned by 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.