Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Shares of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 3,790,528 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 104% from the previous session’s volume of 1,860,417 shares.The stock last traded at $37.01 and had previously closed at $37.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on AXTA shares. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup cut shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Axalta Coating Systems has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.08.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $36.24 and a 200-day moving average of $36.49. The company has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.46.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 7.41% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Axalta Coating Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AXTA. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 35.2% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,021 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 23,951 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 6,378 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,744 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC increased its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 6,024 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.28% of the company’s stock.

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.