American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $8.92 and last traded at $8.8750, with a volume of 2208055 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AXL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on American Axle & Manufacturing from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on American Axle & Manufacturing from $8.50 to $10.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $7.00 target price on American Axle & Manufacturing in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, BWS Financial initiated coverage on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $17.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $9.92.

American Axle & Manufacturing Stock Up 7.5%

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 company has a market cap of $1.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.77 and a beta of 1.60. The business’s 50 day moving average is $7.03 and its 200 day moving average is $6.23.

American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The auto parts company reported $0.16 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. will post 0.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Axle & Manufacturing

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in American Axle & Manufacturing by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,101,519 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $58,341,000 after purchasing an additional 202,364 shares during the last quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 23.0% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 364,180 shares during the period. Highland Peak Capital LLC grew its position in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 72.7% during the third 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. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its stake in American Axle & Manufacturing by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,918,228 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $25,116,000 after buying an additional 414,401 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.