American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) Sets New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL) shares hit a new 52-week low on Saturday . The stock traded as low as $4.38 and last traded at $4.45, with a volume of 5273528 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $4.64.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AXL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com lowered American Axle & Manufacturing from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on American Axle & Manufacturing from $6.50 to $6.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $6.00 target price on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, American Axle & Manufacturing presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $6.69.

American Axle & Manufacturing Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.58, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $522.65 million, a PE ratio of 15.88 and a beta of 1.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $5.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.82.

American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The auto parts company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06). American Axle & Manufacturing had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 0.57%. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.09) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. will post 0.57 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Axle & Manufacturing

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 81.3% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,160 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 3,211 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in American Axle & Manufacturing by 45.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 385,067 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $2,380,000 after purchasing an additional 119,991 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in American Axle & Manufacturing by 374.2% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 73,233 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 57,790 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,562,553 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $15,837,000 after buying an additional 65,535 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in American Axle & Manufacturing by 31.9% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 921,396 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $5,694,000 after acquiring an additional 223,032 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.41% of the company’s stock.

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.