AutoNation (NYSE:AN) PT Raised to $169.00

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) had its price objective hoisted by Guggenheim from $165.00 to $169.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

AN has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com lowered AutoNation from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley raised AutoNation from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and raised their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Evercore ISI began coverage on AutoNation in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an outperform rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America lowered their price objective on AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on AutoNation from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $173.00.

AutoNation Stock Performance

NYSE:AN opened at $154.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.11. AutoNation has a twelve month low of $123.81 and a twelve month high of $182.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $5.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.85 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $6.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.67 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 48.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.37 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoNation will post 18.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AutoNation

In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total value of $16,126,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,167,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $672,013,960.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total value of $16,126,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,167,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,013,960.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 10,804 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.56, for a total value of $1,669,866.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,267,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,640,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 501,776 shares of company stock valued at $73,818,692 in the last quarter. 0.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoNation

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 44,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,767,000 after purchasing an additional 1,983 shares during the period. Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 3rd quarter valued at about $919,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 69.6% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 11,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,752,000 after purchasing an additional 4,748 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,525,000. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,329,000. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.