Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Axalta Coating Systems has been upgraded by Zacks Research from a "strong sell" to a "hold" rating, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment.
• Shares of Axalta currently trade at $31.40, with a market cap of $6.80 billion, showing a 3% decline in stock price recently.
• Despite a year-over-year revenue decrease of 3.4%, Axalta reported earnings per share of $0.64, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.61.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Monday, September 8th,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Axalta Coating Systems from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $51.00 to $33.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $32.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.71.

Axalta Coating Systems Price Performance

AXTA stock traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $30.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 427,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,392,606. The stock has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.28. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $27.58 and a fifty-two week high of $41.65. The company's 50 day moving average is $30.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.27.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. Axalta Coating Systems has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.450-2.550 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 0.630-0.670 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Axalta Coating Systems will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Axalta Coating Systems news, SVP Amy Tufano sold 3,194 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.06, for a total value of $99,205.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 12,087 shares of the company's stock, valued at $375,422.22. This trade represents a 20.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axalta Coating Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXTA. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 11,757.1% in the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 830 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 823 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 105.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 949 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in Axalta Coating Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. IFP Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Axalta Coating Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 951.6% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,325 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.