American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) Trading 10.8% Higher on Earnings Beat

Key Points

• American Axle & Manufacturing's stock surged 10.8% following an earnings report that showed a profit of $0.21 per share, surpassing expectations by $0.07.
• Despite the positive earnings, the company's quarterly revenue decreased by 5.9% compared to the previous year, indicating some ongoing challenges in sales.
• Several analysts revised their ratings, with UBS Group upgrading the stock from neutral to buy and increasing the target price from $4.50 to $7.00.

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 10.8% during trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $5.16 and last traded at $5.08. 1,527,031 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 2,863,707 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.58.

The auto parts company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.07. American Axle & Manufacturing had a net margin of 0.36% and a return on equity of 8.70%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.19 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AXL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised American Axle & Manufacturing from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group upgraded American Axle & Manufacturing from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $4.50 to $7.00 in a report on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $5.00 price objective on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on American Axle & Manufacturing from $8.00 to $7.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $6.43.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Axle & Manufacturing

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AXL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,713,232 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $91,608,000 after purchasing an additional 462,847 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,283,580 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $17,434,000 after purchasing an additional 427,071 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,286,516 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $13,376,000 after buying an additional 44,663 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in American Axle & Manufacturing by 0.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,752,266 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $11,232,000 after purchasing an additional 23,783 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,649,397 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $10,783,000 after buying an additional 444,134 shares in the last quarter. 91.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Axle & Manufacturing Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.38, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The company has a market cap of $615.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.68 and a beta of 1.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $4.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.45.

About American Axle & Manufacturing

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.

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