American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) and OPENLANE (NYSE:KAR) Head to Head Review

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

91.4% of American Axle & Manufacturing shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.8% of OPENLANE shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of American Axle & Manufacturing shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of OPENLANE shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Axle & Manufacturing	$6.12 billion	0.12	$33.80 million	$0.33	19.18
OPENLANE	$1.79 billion	1.65	$109.90 million	$0.87	31.95

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

Volatility & Risk

American Axle & Manufacturing has a beta of 1.58, indicating that its stock price is 58% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, OPENLANE has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Axle & Manufacturing	0	5	3	0	2.38
OPENLANE	0	2	4	1	2.86

American Axle & Manufacturing presently has a consensus price target of $7.08, indicating a potential upside of 11.92%. OPENLANE has a consensus price target of $30.20, indicating a potential upside of 8.65%. Given American Axle & Manufacturing’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe American Axle & Manufacturing is more favorable than OPENLANE.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Axle & Manufacturing	0.72%	7.92%	0.97%
OPENLANE	9.00%	12.42%	3.65%

Summary

OPENLANE beats American Axle & Manufacturing on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About OPENLANE

OPENLANE, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital marketplace for used vehicles, which connects sellers and buyers in North America, Europe, the Philippines, and Uruguay. The company operates through two segments, Marketplace and Finance. The Marketplace segment offers digital marketplace services for buying and selling used vehicles. Its digital marketplaces include OPENLANE, a mobile-app enabled solutions that allows dealers to sell and source inventory in the United States. This segment also provides value-added ancillary services, including inbound and outbound transportation logistics, reconditioning, vehicle inspection and certification, titling, administrative, and collateral recovery services. This segment sells its products and services through vehicle manufacturers, fleet companies, rental car companies, finance companies, and others. The Finance segment offers floorplan financing, a short-term inventory-secured financing to independent used vehicle dealers. The company serves commercial customers and dealer customers. The company was formerly known as KAR Auction Services, Inc. and changed its name to OPENLANE, Inc. in May 2023. OPENLANE, Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.