Allianz Asset Management GmbH Takes Position in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA)

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Axalta Coating Systems, purchasing 15,400 shares valued at approximately $511,000 in the first quarter.
• Recent analyst ratings indicate mixed sentiments, with BNP Paribas upgrading Axalta to "outperform" with a target price of $38.00 while other firms have lowered their price targets.
• Shares of Axalta are currently trading at $27.82, reflecting a decrease of 1.8%, with a market capitalization of $6.02 billion and an EPS of $0.64 for the last quarter.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 15,400 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $511,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 46.1% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 82,380 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,819,000 after acquiring an additional 25,987 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 30,682 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 1,713 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 36.1% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 9,973 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $341,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 307,812 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $10,533,000 after acquiring an additional 18,867 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 3,270 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,156 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AXTA. BNP Paribas raised Axalta Coating Systems from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup reissued 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Barclays lowered their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.71.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:AXTA opened at $27.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has a 52-week low of $27.58 and a 52-week high of $41.65. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $30.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.62. The company has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.27.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.03. Axalta Coating Systems had a return on equity of 25.32% and a net margin of 8.58%. The business 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 business earned $0.57 earnings per share. The business's revenue 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 fiscal year.

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.

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