Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Rating Increased to Buy at Vertical Research

Key Points

• Axalta Coating Systems has been upgraded from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating by Vertical Research, reflecting growing analyst confidence in the company's stock.
• A variety of brokerages have adjusted their price targets on Axalta, with current consensus pricing at $36.75, indicating mixed outlooks among analysts.
• The company's latest earnings report showed a net margin of 8.58% and revenue of $1.32 billion, which was slightly below analyst estimates, highlighting ongoing challenges despite a year-over-year EPS increase.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Vertical Research from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on AXTA. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $39.00 to $38.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 10th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $34.00 in a report on Monday, October 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.75.

Axalta Coating Systems Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of AXTA stock opened at $27.58 on Wednesday. Axalta Coating Systems has a 1 year low of $26.28 and a 1 year high of $41.65. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $29.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 25.32%. Axalta Coating Systems's revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. Axalta Coating Systems has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.450-2.550 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 0.630-0.670 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Axalta Coating Systems will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Axalta Coating Systems

In other Axalta Coating Systems news, SVP Amy Tufano sold 3,194 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total transaction of $99,205.64. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 12,087 shares in the company, valued at approximately $375,422.22. This represents a 20.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWM LLC lifted its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 211.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 141,253 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $4,043,000 after purchasing an additional 95,950 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 93.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 17,195 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 8,310 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 166,639 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $4,769,000 after purchasing an additional 32,196 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd increased its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 29.5% during the 3rd quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 917,760 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,266,000 after purchasing an additional 209,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shelton Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,433 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $985,000 after purchasing an additional 4,523 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.