Short Interest in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) Decreases By 12.8%

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,060,000 shares, a decrease of 12.8% from the April 30th total of 5,800,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,370,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Axalta Coating Systems Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Axalta Coating Systems stock traded up $0.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $30.65. 784,009 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,036,423. Axalta Coating Systems has a 1 year low of $27.70 and a 1 year high of $41.66. The firm has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock's fifty day moving average is $31.51 and its 200 day moving average is $34.66.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Axalta Coating Systems will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AXTA shares. BNP Paribas raised shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Axalta Coating Systems from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded 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 research report on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho set a $37.00 target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Axalta Coating Systems from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $40.38.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axalta Coating Systems

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AXTA. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 154,483 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,589,000 after acquiring an additional 51,748 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 23,951 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $820,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 1,748.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,732 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 4,476 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 53.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,996 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 3,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC boosted its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 6,024 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. 98.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.