XTX Topco Ltd Takes Position in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA)

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd has acquired a new stake in Axalta Coating Systems, purchasing 13,496 shares valued at approximately $448,000 during the first quarter.
• Axalta's recent quarterly earnings showed a net margin of 8.58% with earnings per share exceeding estimates at $0.64, despite a revenue decline of 3.4% year-over-year.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Axalta's stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $37.71, although several firms have recently downgraded their ratings.

XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,496 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $448,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 12.3% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,139,236 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $37,788,000 after purchasing an additional 125,070 shares during the last quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 76.8% in the first quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 36,301 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,204,000 after acquiring an additional 15,770 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 13.4% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 61,721 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,047,000 after acquiring an additional 7,273 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 57.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 24,233 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $804,000 after purchasing an additional 8,861 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems during the 1st quarter valued at about $511,000. 98.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Axalta Coating Systems Price Performance

Shares of AXTA traded down $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $28.38. 1,811,626 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,294,491. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has a 52 week low of $27.58 and a 52 week high of $41.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 2.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.79 and a 200-day moving average of $32.35. The stock has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.27.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AXTA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective 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. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Axalta Coating Systems from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $32.00 in a report on Thursday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Axalta Coating Systems from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Seven 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. According to MarketBeat, Axalta Coating Systems currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.71.

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.