Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Stock Price

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at Citigroup from $35.00 to $34.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price suggests a potential upside of 18.18% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on AXTA. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Axalta Coating Systems from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $32.00 in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.50.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Down 4.6%

Axalta Coating Systems stock opened at $28.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. Axalta Coating Systems has a 12-month low of $27.70 and a 12-month high of $41.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $31.42 and its 200 day moving average is $34.22. The company has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.27.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.05. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 7.41% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. Axalta Coating Systems’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Axalta Coating Systems will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axalta Coating Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 3.2% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,637,025 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $386,000,000 after purchasing an additional 356,143 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,321,994 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $387,439,000 after purchasing an additional 988,397 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 29.8% in the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,250,351 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $240,494,000 after buying an additional 1,663,261 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 2.0% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,730,406 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $223,248,000 after acquiring an additional 132,234 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 6.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,140,945 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $137,344,000 after acquiring an additional 266,907 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.28% of the company’s stock.

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.