Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Decreases Position in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Axalta Coating Systems were worth $2,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 116.3% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 824 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 worth $37,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in Axalta Coating Systems in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Axalta Coating Systems in the third quarter worth approximately $54,000. 98.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axalta Coating Systems Price Performance

Shares of AXTA opened at $37.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 2.01. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $30.41 and a fifty-two week high of $41.65. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.50. The company has a market capitalization of $8.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.46.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Axalta Coating Systems

In other Axalta Coating Systems news, insider Troy D. Weaver sold 10,457 shares of Axalta Coating Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.57, for a total value of $392,869.49. Following the sale, the insider now owns 74,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,814,180.85. The trade was a 12.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AXTA shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Axalta Coating Systems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $43.08.

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.