American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) Rating Lowered to Buy at Wall Street Zen

American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $7.00 target price on American Axle & Manufacturing in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.08.

American Axle & Manufacturing Stock Performance

NYSE AXL opened at $6.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $769.74 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.61. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $6.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.70. American Axle & Manufacturing has a twelve month low of $3.00 and a twelve month high of $6.82.

American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The auto parts company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.04. American Axle & Manufacturing had a return on equity of 7.92% and a net margin of 0.72%.The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that American Axle & Manufacturing will post 0.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Axle & Manufacturing

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 267.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,383 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 3,191 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in American Axle & Manufacturing by 825.6% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,979 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 6,225 shares during the last quarter. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in American Axle & Manufacturing during the second quarter worth $42,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC bought a new position in American Axle & Manufacturing during the second quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in American Axle & Manufacturing during the third quarter valued at $50,000. 91.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About American Axle & Manufacturing

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc (NYSE: AXL) is a global designer, engineer and manufacturer of driveline and drivetrain systems and components for light vehicles, commercial trucks and off-highway applications. The company’s core product portfolio includes axles, driveshafts, half-shafts, drive module assemblies and differential gears, as well as advanced metallic and composite structures for electric and hybrid vehicles. AAM’s capabilities also encompass system testing, rapid prototyping and precision machining to support both high-volume production and low-volume, specialty vehicle applications.

Founded in 1994 following the divestiture of the Detroit Axle Division of General Motors, American Axle & Manufacturing completed its initial public offering in 1998.