Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Hits New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Axalta Coating Systems' stock reached a new 52-week low of $27.60 after Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target from $37.00 to $34.00.
• Several analysts have downgraded the stock, with price targets being lowered from as high as $51.00 down to $32.00.
• Despite the recent downgrades, Axalta has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a price target of $38.00, and 98.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday after Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $37.00 to $34.00. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Axalta Coating Systems traded as low as $27.60 and last traded at $27.72, with a volume of 460413 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.32.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on AXTA. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $32.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Axalta Coating Systems from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $42.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $34.00 price target (down previously from $35.00) on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.71.

Institutional Trading of Axalta Coating Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXTA. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 3,005.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 76,855 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,549,000 after purchasing an additional 74,380 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 0.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 502,087 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $16,654,000 after purchasing an additional 2,099 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC purchased a new position in Axalta Coating Systems during the first quarter worth about $204,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Axalta Coating Systems during the first quarter worth about $572,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 77,859 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,583,000 after acquiring an additional 8,412 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.28% of the company's stock.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Up 1.4%

The business's 50 day moving average price is $30.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.12.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.03. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 25.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

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.