Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,810,000 shares, a drop of 8.6% from the March 15th total of 6,360,000 shares. Approximately 2.7% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,950,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Axalta Coating Systems Price Performance

Axalta Coating Systems stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $31.71. The stock had a trading volume of 1,217,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,918,927. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The firm's 50 day moving average is $32.70 and its 200 day moving average is $31.42. Axalta Coating Systems has a one year low of $25.03 and a one year high of $34.53.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.29 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 5.16%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Axalta Coating Systems will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AXTA shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $36.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axalta Coating Systems has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.70.

Institutional Trading of Axalta Coating Systems

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AXTA. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 47.7% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,046 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 12,219 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. raised its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 57,697 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 18,626 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $611,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 97,171 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,614,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.28% of the company's stock.

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.

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