Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Stock Price

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) had its price target cut by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $45.00 to $42.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 31.00% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on AXTA. StockNews.com downgraded Axalta Coating Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $41.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays upped their price target on Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Axalta Coating Systems Trading Down 5.2 %

AXTA stock traded down $1.76 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $32.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 679,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,994,625. The company has a market cap of $6.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. Axalta Coating Systems has a 12 month low of $30.41 and a 12 month high of $41.66. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $35.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.54.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.09. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 7.41% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Axalta Coating Systems will post 2.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Axalta Coating Systems news, insider Troy D. Weaver sold 10,457 shares of Axalta Coating Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.57, for a total transaction of $392,869.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 74,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,814,180.85. This trade represents a 12.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Axalta Coating Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kera Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Axalta Coating Systems in the 1st quarter valued at about $240,000. 111 Capital acquired a new position in Axalta Coating Systems during the fourth quarter worth $658,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,746 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $744,000 after acquiring an additional 2,438 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,413,000. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 103,938 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,557,000 after purchasing an additional 20,738 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.