Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Rating Lowered to “Market Perform” at BMO Capital Markets

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) was downgraded by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $33.00 target price on the specialty chemicals company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $51.00. BMO Capital Markets’ target price points to a potential upside of 9.86% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price 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. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $34.00 target price (down previously from $35.00) on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.47.

Axalta Coating Systems Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:AXTA opened at $30.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $30.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.25. Axalta Coating Systems has a 12-month low of $27.70 and a 12-month high of $41.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 26.30%. Axalta Coating Systems’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Axalta Coating Systems will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Axalta Coating Systems

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AXTA. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 11,757.1% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 830 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 105.9% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 949 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 951.6% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,199 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 60.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 31.1% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,744 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 651 shares in the last quarter. 98.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.