Towle & Co. Cuts Holdings in American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL)

Towle & Co. reduced its position in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL - Free Report) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,254,522 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 380,014 shares during the quarter. American Axle & Manufacturing comprises about 2.3% of Towle & Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Towle & Co. owned approximately 1.92% of American Axle & Manufacturing worth $13,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXL. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 201.2% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,246,559 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $7,267,000 after purchasing an additional 832,726 shares during the last quarter. Lonestar Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Axle & Manufacturing in the fourth quarter worth $3,893,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 546.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 786,569 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $4,586,000 after acquiring an additional 664,922 shares during the period. Whitebox Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Axle & Manufacturing by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 1,892,723 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $11,035,000 after buying an additional 477,550 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in American Axle & Manufacturing by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,713,232 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $91,608,000 after buying an additional 462,847 shares during the period. 91.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Axle & Manufacturing Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of AXL stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $4.39. 1,928,214 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,944,096. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.58. The firm has a market cap of $520.33 million, a PE ratio of 15.66 and a beta of 1.71. The company's 50 day moving average is $3.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.14. American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $3.00 and a 1 year high of $7.76.

American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The auto parts company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.03. American Axle & Manufacturing had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 0.57%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.18 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. will post 0.57 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AXL. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on American Axle & Manufacturing from $8.00 to $7.50 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Axle & Manufacturing from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group reduced their price target on American Axle & Manufacturing from $6.00 to $3.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. TD Cowen started coverage on American Axle & Manufacturing in a report on Friday, March 7th. They set a "hold" rating and a $5.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $5.00 price target on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $5.93.

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.