American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) Price Target Raised to $12.00

American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) had its price objective lifted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $9.00 to $12.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the auto parts company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target indicates a potential upside of 47.00% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on AXL. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Axle & Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $7.00 price target on American Axle & Manufacturing in a report on Monday, December 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on American Axle & Manufacturing from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on American Axle & Manufacturing from $8.50 to $10.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.50.

American Axle & Manufacturing Stock Performance

Shares of AXL traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $8.16. 287,060 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,498,695. American Axle & Manufacturing has a 1 year low of $3.00 and a 1 year high of $8.63. 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 50-day moving average price of $6.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.01. The stock has a market cap of $968.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.77 and a beta of 1.58.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.04. American Axle & Manufacturing had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 7.92%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.20 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that American Axle & Manufacturing will post 0.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of American Axle & Manufacturing

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AXL. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 98.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 60,425 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 30,046 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 2.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 452,658 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 12,477 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 77.9% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,550,521 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $6,311,000 after acquiring an additional 679,042 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,490,388 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $6,066,000 after purchasing an additional 291,908 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in American Axle & Manufacturing by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 567,790 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $2,311,000 after purchasing an additional 16,674 shares during the last quarter. 91.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.