American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $6.88 and last traded at $6.9750, with a volume of 1928094 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of American Axle & Manufacturing from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on American Axle & Manufacturing from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $7.00 price target on American Axle & Manufacturing in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $7.08.

American Axle & Manufacturing Trading Up 8.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.61, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $889.66 million, a PE ratio of 22.71 and a beta of 1.58. The business’s 50-day moving average is $6.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.76.

American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The auto parts company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. American Axle & Manufacturing had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The business’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. will post 0.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Axle & Manufacturing

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in American Axle & Manufacturing by 267.7% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,383 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 3,191 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 825.6% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,979 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 6,225 shares during the period. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC purchased a new position in American Axle & Manufacturing in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in American Axle & Manufacturing during the third quarter worth $50,000. 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.