American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $7.32, but opened at $7.75. American Axle & Manufacturing shares last traded at $7.54, with a volume of 1,186,925 shares changing hands.

The auto parts company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.17. American Axle & Manufacturing had a negative net margin of 0.55% and a negative return on equity of 1.78%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.01) earnings per share. American Axle & Manufacturing’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AXL shares. UBS Group upgraded American Axle & Manufacturing from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of American Axle & Manufacturing from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $7.70.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AXL. Kowal Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Kowal Investment Group LLC now owns 32,706 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 2,217 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in American Axle & Manufacturing by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 117,439 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $853,000 after buying an additional 2,591 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in American Axle & Manufacturing by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 94,285 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $757,000 after buying an additional 2,801 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in American Axle & Manufacturing by 1.9% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 154,347 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 2,818 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of American Axle & Manufacturing by 1.1% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 257,300 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,868,000 after acquiring an additional 2,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.41% of the company’s stock.

American Axle & Manufacturing Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.49. The company has a market capitalization of $880.37 million, a P/E ratio of -26.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 2.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.55, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.67.

American Axle & Manufacturing Company Profile

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, engineers, and manufactures driveline and metal forming technologies that supports electric, hybrid, and internal combustion vehicles. It operates through two segments, Driveline and Metal Forming segments. The Driveline segment offers front and rear axles, driveshafts, differential assemblies, clutch modules, balance shaft systems, disconnecting driveline technology, and electric and hybrid driveline products and systems for light trucks, sport utility vehicles, crossover vehicles, passenger cars, and commercial vehicles.