Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Allison Transmission from $82.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Allison Transmission from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Allison Transmission from $129.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Allison Transmission from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Allison Transmission has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.00.

Allison Transmission Stock Performance

Allison Transmission stock traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $99.18. 798,090 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 601,986. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 3.04 and a quick ratio of 2.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.12. Allison Transmission has a fifty-two week low of $71.49 and a fifty-two week high of $122.53. The stock has a market cap of $8.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.02.

Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The auto parts company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.11. Allison Transmission had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 47.95%. On average, research analysts expect that Allison Transmission will post 9.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allison Transmission announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the auto parts company to purchase up to 57.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Ryan A. Milburn sold 4,546 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total transaction of $437,325.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,138 shares in the company, valued at $1,360,075.60. This represents a 24.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP John Coll sold 2,000 shares of Allison Transmission stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.40, for a total value of $216,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $695,928. This represents a 23.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALSN. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in shares of Allison Transmission by 301.1% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 2,378,731 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $257,046,000 after purchasing an additional 1,785,687 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Allison Transmission during the fourth quarter worth $108,916,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in shares of Allison Transmission by 4,877.2% during the fourth quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 444,518 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $48,035,000 after buying an additional 435,587 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Allison Transmission during the fourth quarter worth $41,081,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Allison Transmission by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,993,015 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,404,025,000 after acquiring an additional 247,318 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

Allison Transmission Company Profile

Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells fully automatic transmissions for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles and medium- and heavy-tactical U.S. defense vehicles, and electrified propulsion systems worldwide. It provides commercial-duty on-highway, off-highway and defense fully automatic transmissions, and electric hybrid and fully electric systems.