AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

by · The Markets Daily

AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN – Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $201.75.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AN shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of AutoNation from $164.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AutoNation from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on AutoNation from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Stephens started coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of AutoNation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th.

Read Our Latest Analysis on AN

AutoNation Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE AN opened at $178.83 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. AutoNation has a one year low of $123.81 and a one year high of $197.18. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $173.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a PE ratio of 8.48, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.20.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.31 by ($0.32). The company had revenue of $6.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.72 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 36.50% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that AutoNation will post 17.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AutoNation

In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 53,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.45, for a total transaction of $10,361,568.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,825,838 shares in the company, valued at $740,108,361.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 53,562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.45, for a total transaction of $10,361,568.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,825,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $740,108,361.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 39,194 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.43, for a total value of $7,189,355.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,786,144 shares in the company, valued at $694,492,393.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 216,959 shares of company stock worth $39,346,744. 0.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoNation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the first quarter valued at about $170,270,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,748,000. Eminence Capital LP raised its stake in shares of AutoNation by 84.4% in the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 261,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,338,000 after purchasing an additional 119,866 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in AutoNation during the second quarter worth $15,832,000. Finally, Lodge Hill Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AutoNation during the second quarter worth $15,141,000. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoNation Company Profile

(Get Free Report

AutoNation, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Domestic, Import, and Premium Luxury. It offers a range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles; and parts and services, such as automotive repair and maintenance, and wholesale parts and collision services.

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