American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) Trading 10.3% Higher – Here’s Why

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL)’s stock price rose 10.3% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $5.56 and last traded at $5.68. Approximately 652,588 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 2,169,440 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AXL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on American Axle & Manufacturing from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on American Axle & Manufacturing from $6.50 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut American Axle & Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.75.

American Axle & Manufacturing Stock Up 12.3 %

The stock has a market cap of $680.21 million, a PE ratio of 24.10 and a beta of 1.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $5.70 and a 200 day moving average of $6.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.28.

American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The auto parts company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.39 billion. American Axle & Manufacturing had a return on equity of 9.63% and a net margin of 0.48%. American Axle & Manufacturing’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.09) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. will post 0.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Axle & Manufacturing

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 45.3% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 385,067 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,380,000 after purchasing an additional 119,991 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing during the third quarter worth about $62,000. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 274.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 199,795 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 146,430 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 25.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 511,378 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,160,000 after purchasing an additional 104,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 540.2% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 199,514 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 168,348 shares during 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 engages in the manufacture, engineering, design, and validation of driveline systems and related components. It operates through the Driveline and Metal Forming segments. The Driveline segment consists of axles, drive shafts, power transfer units, rear drive modules, and electric and hybrid driveline products and systems for light trucks, service utility vehicles, crossover vehicles, passenger cars, and commercial vehicles.