Cullen Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA)

Cullen Capital Management LLC grew its position in Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 100,836 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,583 shares during the period. Cullen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Axalta Coating Systems were worth $3,451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $87,850,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,321,994 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $387,439,000 after purchasing an additional 988,397 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 35.4% in the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,620,459 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $55,452,000 after purchasing an additional 423,883 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group acquired a new stake in Axalta Coating Systems during the 4th quarter worth $13,512,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 151.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 633,017 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $22,909,000 after buying an additional 381,488 shares in the last quarter. 98.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Axalta Coating Systems stock opened at $29.73 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market cap of $6.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.33. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has a 52 week low of $28.95 and a 52 week high of $41.66.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. Axalta Coating Systems’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Axalta Coating Systems

In related news, insider Troy D. Weaver sold 10,457 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 74,905 shares in the company, valued at $2,814,180.85. This trade represents a 12.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AXTA. Citigroup downgraded shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $41.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $41.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $43.00 to $41.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

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.