Reviewing Oshkosh (NYSE:OSK) and American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL)

Oshkosh (NYSE:OSK) and American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) are both auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Oshkosh and American Axle & Manufacturing”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Oshkosh	$10.76 billion	0.74	$681.40 million	$9.36	13.19
American Axle & Manufacturing	$6.12 billion	0.09	$33.80 million	$0.17	26.76

Oshkosh has higher revenue and earnings than American Axle & Manufacturing. Oshkosh is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Axle & Manufacturing, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Oshkosh and American Axle & Manufacturing, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Oshkosh	1	3	10	0	2.64
American Axle & Manufacturing	1	6	2	0	2.11

Oshkosh presently has a consensus target price of $126.85, suggesting a potential upside of 2.78%. American Axle & Manufacturing has a consensus target price of $6.43, suggesting a potential upside of 41.29%. Given American Axle & Manufacturing’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe American Axle & Manufacturing is more favorable than Oshkosh.

Volatility & Risk

Oshkosh has a beta of 1.43, suggesting that its stock price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Axle & Manufacturing has a beta of 1.54, suggesting that its stock price is 54% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

92.4% of Oshkosh shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.4% of American Axle & Manufacturing shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Oshkosh shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of American Axle & Manufacturing shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Oshkosh and American Axle & Manufacturing’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Oshkosh	5.84%	17.22%	7.29%
American Axle & Manufacturing	0.36%	8.70%	0.99%

Summary

Oshkosh beats American Axle & Manufacturing on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Oshkosh

Oshkosh Corporation provides purpose-built vehicles and equipment worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Access, Defense, and Vocational segment. Its Access Equipment segment design and manufacture aerial work platform and telehandlers for use in construction, industrial, and maintenance applications; offers financing and leasing solutions including rental fleet loans, leases, and floor plan and retail financing; and towing and recovery equipment, which includes carriers, wreckers, and rotators, as well as provides equipment installation and sale of chassis and service parts. The Defense segment engages in the manufacture and sale of heavy, medium, and light tactical wheeled vehicles and related services for department of defense. Its Vocational segment offers custom and commercial firefighting equipment, fire apparatus, and emergency vehicles, including pumpers, aerial platform, ladder and tiller trucks, and tankers; light, medium, and heavy-duty rescue vehicles; and wildland rough terrain response, bomb squad, hazardous materials control vehicles, mobile command and control centers, and other emergency response vehicles. Additionally, this segment produces and sells custom and commercial firefighting vehicles, as well as command vehicles, ARFF vehicles; design and manufacture refuse collection vehicles for waste services industry; front discharge concrete mixers for the concrete ready-mix industry; and field service vehicles and truck-mounted cranes for construction, equipment dealer, building supply, utility, tire service, railroad, and mining industries. Further, the company provides its products through direct sales representatives, dealers, and distributors. Oshkosh Corporation was formerly known as Oshkosh Truck Corporation. The company was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

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. The Metal Forming segment manufactures axle shafts, ring and pinion gears, differential gears, transmission gears, and shafts and suspension components for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and Tier 1 automotive suppliers. The company was founded by Richard E. Dauch on March 1, 1994, and is headquartered in Detroit, MI.