Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ALSN - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $93.39, but opened at $99.83. Allison Transmission shares last traded at $99.77, with a volume of 95,214 shares changing hands.

The auto parts company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.16. Allison Transmission had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 47.95%. The company had revenue of $766.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $792.18 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. Allison Transmission's quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Allison Transmission Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. This is an increase from Allison Transmission's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Allison Transmission's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.00%.

Allison Transmission declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the auto parts company to reacquire up to 57.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALSN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Allison Transmission from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Allison Transmission from $112.00 to $94.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Allison Transmission from $110.00 to $98.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Allison Transmission from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Allison Transmission from $123.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $97.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Allison Transmission news, VP Ryan A. Milburn sold 4,546 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total transaction of $437,325.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,360,075.60. This represents a 24.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP John Coll sold 1,788 shares of Allison Transmission stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.33, for a total transaction of $170,450.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,466,938.04. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Allison Transmission

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Allison Transmission by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 3,424 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Allison Transmission by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,370 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $1,661,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Allison Transmission by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 25,289 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $2,733,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Allison Transmission by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 10,182 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,100,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in Allison Transmission by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 6,381 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $690,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. 96.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Allison Transmission Stock Up 7.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a current ratio of 3.04. The company has a market cap of $8.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 0.95. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $93.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.43.

About Allison Transmission

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.

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