American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $6.88 and last traded at $6.9750, with a volume of 1928094 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.42.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AXL. Morgan Stanley set a $7.00 target price on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a report on Monday, December 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered American Axle & Manufacturing from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on American Axle & Manufacturing from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group increased their price target on American Axle & Manufacturing from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Axle & Manufacturing currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $7.08.

American Axle & Manufacturing Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $829.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.61.

American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. American Axle & Manufacturing’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. will post 0.57 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of American Axle & Manufacturing

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whitebox Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $22,844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047,820 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,942,565 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $29,705,000 after buying an additional 364,180 shares during the last quarter. Highland Peak Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 760.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,503,827 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $21,058,000 after acquiring an additional 3,096,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,502,709 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.41% of the company’s stock.

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.