Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on ALSN. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Allison Transmission from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Allison Transmission from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Allison Transmission from $129.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Allison Transmission from $82.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.00.

Allison Transmission Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of Allison Transmission stock opened at $96.01 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55 and a beta of 1.02. Allison Transmission has a twelve month low of $71.49 and a twelve month high of $122.53. The company has a current ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.18.

Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The auto parts company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.11. Allison Transmission had a return on equity of 47.95% and a net margin of 22.67%. Equities research analysts forecast that Allison Transmission will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Allison Transmission announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the auto parts company to purchase up to 57.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP John Coll sold 2,000 shares of Allison Transmission stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.40, for a total value of $216,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $695,928. This trade represents a 23.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Ryan A. Milburn sold 4,546 shares of Allison Transmission stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total transaction of $437,325.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,360,075.60. This trade represents a 24.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALSN. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Allison Transmission during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. SRH Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allison Transmission during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Allison Transmission during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Allison Transmission in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Allison Transmission in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

Allison Transmission Company Profile

Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells fully automatic transmissions for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles and medium- and heavy-tactical U.S. defense vehicles, and electrified propulsion systems worldwide. It provides commercial-duty on-highway, off-highway and defense fully automatic transmissions, and electric hybrid and fully electric systems.