Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Earnings Beat

Shares of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $35.00 and last traded at $35.00, with a volume of 270646 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.21.

The specialty chemicals company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 21.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AXTA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho lowered their price target on Axalta Coating Systems from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. UBS Group downgraded shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $35.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 47.7% during the fourth 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 last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 12,022.2% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Axalta Coating Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $88,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. 98.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $32.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.82. The company has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.72, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

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.