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

American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $7.00 to $8.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the auto parts company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price points to a potential downside of 3.21% from the company’s current price.

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

American Axle & Manufacturing Stock Performance

American Axle & Manufacturing stock opened at $8.27 on Friday. American Axle & Manufacturing has a 12-month low of $3.00 and a 12-month high of $8.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.61, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $981.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.05 and a beta of 1.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $6.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.05.

American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The auto parts company reported $0.16 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that American Axle & Manufacturing will post 0.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of American Axle & Manufacturing

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whitebox Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 23.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 5,599,014 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $22,844,000 after buying an additional 1,047,820 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 364,180 shares during the period. Highland Peak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in American Axle & Manufacturing by 72.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,066,924 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in American Axle & Manufacturing by 760.8% in the third 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 boosted its stake in 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 period. 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.