American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Stifel Nicolaus Analyst Says

American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $7.00 to $8.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the auto parts company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would indicate a potential downside of 2.00% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Axle & Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing from $8.50 to $10.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $7.00 price target on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.50.

American Axle & Manufacturing Stock Up 0.3%

AXL stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $8.16. The stock had a trading volume of 287,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,498,695. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $6.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.01. The company has a market capitalization of $968.95 million, a P/E ratio of 24.74 and a beta of 1.58. American Axle & Manufacturing has a 1-year low of $3.00 and a 1-year high of $8.63.

American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The auto parts company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Axle & Manufacturing will post 0.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Axle & Manufacturing

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whitebox Advisors LLC raised its position in American Axle & Manufacturing by 23.0% in the second quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 5,599,014 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $22,844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047,820 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 8.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,942,565 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $29,705,000 after purchasing an additional 364,180 shares during the last quarter. Highland Peak Capital LLC lifted its position in American Axle & Manufacturing by 72.7% during the 3rd quarter. Highland Peak Capital LLC now owns 4,909,688 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $29,507,000 after buying an additional 2,066,924 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in American Axle & Manufacturing by 760.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,503,827 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $21,058,000 after acquiring an additional 3,096,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 79.9% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,382,377 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $20,328,000 after purchasing an additional 1,502,709 shares in the last quarter. 91.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Axle & Manufacturing Company Profile

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.