Short Interest in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) Expands By 15.0%

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,680,000 shares, a growth of 15.0% from the March 31st total of 5,810,000 shares. Approximately 3.1% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of AXTA stock traded up $0.42 on Monday, hitting $31.64. The stock had a trading volume of 3,006,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,973,334. Axalta Coating Systems has a 12-month low of $25.03 and a 12-month high of $34.53. The stock has a market cap of $6.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a 50 day moving average of $32.66 and a 200 day moving average of $31.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 5.16%. Axalta Coating Systems's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Axalta Coating Systems will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axalta Coating Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AXTA. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 2.8% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 36,100 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,241,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems during the 1st quarter worth approximately $323,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 63,300 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,177,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System purchased a new position in Axalta Coating Systems in the first quarter valued at approximately $531,000. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 2.3% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 54,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,857,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. 98.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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