American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,780,000 shares, an increase of 53.5% from the January 15th total of 5,070,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,820,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days. Currently, 7.1% of the company's shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on AXL shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $6.00 price target on shares of American Axle & Manufacturing in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered American Axle & Manufacturing from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays decreased their price target on 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. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on American Axle & Manufacturing from $6.50 to $6.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $6.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Axle & Manufacturing

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in American Axle & Manufacturing during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $218,000. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in American Axle & Manufacturing during the 3rd quarter valued at $412,000. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in American Axle & Manufacturing during the 3rd quarter valued at $80,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in American Axle & Manufacturing in the 3rd quarter worth $89,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in American Axle & Manufacturing by 540.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 199,514 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,233,000 after buying an additional 168,348 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.41% of the company's stock.

American Axle & Manufacturing Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE AXL traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $5.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,182,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,394,050. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.58, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.25. American Axle & Manufacturing has a 52-week low of $4.70 and a 52-week high of $8.20. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $5.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $687.26 million, a P/E ratio of 20.88 and a beta of 1.94.

American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 14th. The auto parts company reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.06). American Axle & Manufacturing had a net margin of 0.57% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.09) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that American Axle & Manufacturing will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

American Axle & Manufacturing Company Profile

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.