AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $187.71.

Several research analysts recently commented on AN shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on AutoNation from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Guggenheim boosted their target price on AutoNation from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on AutoNation from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AutoNation from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on AutoNation from $164.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st.

AutoNation Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of AN stock opened at $171.89 on Friday. AutoNation has a 12-month low of $123.81 and a 12-month high of $197.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $171.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $163.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.20.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.31 by ($0.32). AutoNation had a return on equity of 36.50% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $6.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.72 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that AutoNation will post 17.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total transaction of $4,083,789.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,980,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $685,794,659.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total value of $4,083,789.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,980,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $685,794,659.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.06, for a total transaction of $91,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,825,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $696,441,036.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 216,959 shares of company stock valued at $39,346,744. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoNation

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AN. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AutoNation by 1.2% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $866,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of AutoNation by 0.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 15,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,413,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of AutoNation by 45.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its position in shares of AutoNation by 0.3% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 32,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,393,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis Capital Management increased its position in shares of AutoNation by 0.9% during the second quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 9,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,543,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Company Profile

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.