Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) Stock Position Increased by Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC

Key Points

• Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 15.4%, holding nearly 3.9 million shares, which now represents about 4.1% of its investment portfolio.
• The company's recent earnings report revealed a per-share profit of $0.64, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.61, despite a 3.4% year-over-year decline in revenue.
• Axalta Coating Systems received mixed ratings from various analysts, with price targets ranging from $32.00 to $40.00, indicating a generally cautious outlook for the stock.

Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA - Free Report) by 15.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,913,488 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 520,844 shares during the period. Axalta Coating Systems comprises about 4.1% of Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC owned approximately 1.79% of Axalta Coating Systems worth $129,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position 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 worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 31.1% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,744 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,704 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXTA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Axalta Coating Systems from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $34.00 price target (down from $35.00) on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.71.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:AXTA traded down $0.09 on Friday, reaching $28.38. 1,811,626 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,294,491. The company has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.27. 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 Ltd. has a 12 month low of $27.58 and a 12 month high of $41.65. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $29.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.35.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during 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 period last year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 2.55 EPS 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.