Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Friday morning.

ALSN has been the subject of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Allison Transmission from $82.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Allison Transmission from $108.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Allison Transmission from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Allison Transmission from $110.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.00.

Allison Transmission Stock Up 0.0 %

ALSN opened at $88.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a current ratio of 3.04. The company has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 0.95. Allison Transmission has a one year low of $71.49 and a one year high of $122.53. The business’s fifty day moving average is $98.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.32.

Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The auto parts company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.11. Allison Transmission had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 47.95%. Analysts anticipate that Allison Transmission will post 9.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allison Transmission announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the auto parts company to reacquire up to 57.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Allison Transmission Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change from Allison Transmission’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Allison Transmission’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP John Coll sold 1,788 shares of Allison Transmission stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.33, for a total value of $170,450.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,466,938.04. This trade represents a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Ryan A. Milburn sold 4,546 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total value of $437,325.20. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,360,075.60. This trade represents a 24.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Allison Transmission

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Allison Transmission during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SRH Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allison Transmission during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Allison Transmission during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Allison Transmission in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Allison Transmission in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.90% of the company’s stock.

About Allison Transmission

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.