Critical Comparison: American Axle & Manufacturing (DCH) & Its Peers

American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:DCH) is one of 71 public companies in the “AUTO/TRUCK – ORIG” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare American Axle & Manufacturing to related companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation and risk.

Risk & Volatility

American Axle & Manufacturing has a beta of 1.61, suggesting that its share price is 61% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Axle & Manufacturing’s competitors have a beta of 4.63, suggesting that their average share price is 363% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

91.4% of American Axle & Manufacturing shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.2% of shares of all “AUTO/TRUCK – ORIG” companies are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of American Axle & Manufacturing shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.2% of shares of all “AUTO/TRUCK – ORIG” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares American Axle & Manufacturing and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Axle & Manufacturing	-0.34%	10.00%	1.17%
American Axle & Manufacturing Competitors	-2,041.24%	-29.48%	-6.52%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares American Axle & Manufacturing and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Axle & Manufacturing	$5.84 billion	-$19.70 million	-32.06
American Axle & Manufacturing Competitors	$6.36 billion	$162.12 million	32.78

American Axle & Manufacturing’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than American Axle & Manufacturing. American Axle & Manufacturing is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for American Axle & Manufacturing and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Axle & Manufacturing	2	3	6	0	2.36
American Axle & Manufacturing Competitors	805	3654	4833	265	2.48

American Axle & Manufacturing currently has a consensus price target of $10.12, indicating a potential upside of 75.41%. As a group, “AUTO/TRUCK – ORIG” companies have a potential upside of 23.75%. Given American Axle & Manufacturing’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe American Axle & Manufacturing is more favorable than its competitors.

Summary

American Axle & Manufacturing competitors beat American Axle & Manufacturing on 7 of the 13 factors compared.

American Axle & Manufacturing Company Profile

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. The Metal Forming segment manufactures axle shafts, ring and pinion gears, differential gears, transmission gears, and shafts and suspension components for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and Tier 1 automotive suppliers. The company was founded by Richard E. Dauch on March 1, 1994, and is headquartered in Detroit, MI.