Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Stock Price Breaks Above 50 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $34.19 and traded as high as $34.76. Axalta Coating Systems shares last traded at $34.2230, with a volume of 1,669,035 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXTA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a report on Friday, October 9th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a report on Monday, October 5th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a report on Monday, September 21st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $39.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Axalta Coating Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.18.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Up 0.2%

The company has a market cap of $7.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.13, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $34.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.07. Axalta Coating Systems had a return on equity of 22.35% and a net margin of 6.78%. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axalta Coating Systems

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 144.6% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 31,467 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 18,600 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 10.3% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 11,219 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 192.2% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 61,275 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,970,000 after purchasing an additional 40,305 shares during the period. Finally, Formuepleje A S raised its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 0.5% during the third quarter. Formuepleje A S now owns 60,905 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,959,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.28% of the company’s stock.

About Axalta Coating Systems

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE: AXTA) develops, manufactures and sells coatings and coating technologies designed to protect, enhance and improve the appearance of vehicles, equipment and industrial products. Its offerings include liquid, powder and electrocoat products, along with related color-management tools, application technologies and technical services.

The company serves several markets, including automotive original equipment manufacturers, automotive refinish businesses, commercial transportation, industrial equipment, architecture and general manufacturing.