First Trust Advisors LP Sells 160,978 Shares of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. $AXTA

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) by 31.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 345,093 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 160,978 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Axalta Coating Systems were worth $9,559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 197.7% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 908 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Axalta Coating Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Axalta Coating Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Axalta Coating Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems during the first quarter worth $30,000. 98.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AXTA. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Axalta Coating Systems to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Axalta Coating Systems presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.00.

Axalta Coating Systems Price Performance

AXTA stock opened at $35.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $33.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.53 and a current ratio of 1.53. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. has a 52-week low of $24.94 and a 52-week high of $36.62.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 6.78% and a return on equity of 22.35%. Axalta Coating Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. Axalta Coating Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.550-2.700 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.700-0.700 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

About Axalta Coating Systems

Axalta Coating Systems is a global leader in the development, manufacture and sale of liquid and powder coatings. The company’s product portfolio spans refinish coatings for the automotive collision repair market, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) coatings for new vehicle production, and industrial coatings including electrodeposition (E-coat) and powder coatings for a variety of sectors such as architecture, heavy equipment and general industrial applications.

Tracing its roots to the 19th century and rebranded as Axalta following its separation from DuPont Performance Coatings in 2013, the company has built a presence in more than 100 countries.