American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Saturday . The stock traded as low as $4.38 and last traded at $4.45, with a volume of 5273528 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $4.64.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cowen began coverage on American Axle & Manufacturing in a report on Thursday, March 6th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a “hold” rating and a $5.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $6.00 price objective on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.69.

American Axle & Manufacturing Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $5.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.81. The company has a market capitalization of $522.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.58, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The auto parts company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06). American Axle & Manufacturing had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 0.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.09) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. will post 0.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Axle & Manufacturing

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 81.3% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,160 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 3,211 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 45.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 385,067 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,380,000 after acquiring an additional 119,991 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in American Axle & Manufacturing by 374.2% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,233 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 57,790 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in American Axle & Manufacturing by 2.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,562,553 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $15,837,000 after purchasing an additional 65,535 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its stake in American Axle & Manufacturing by 31.9% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 921,396 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $5,694,000 after purchasing an additional 223,032 shares in the last quarter. 91.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.