Wells Fargo & Company Increases AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Price Target to $169.00

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $153.00 to $169.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 4.88% from the stock’s current price.

AN has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded AutoNation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com lowered AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.38.

AutoNation Price Performance

AutoNation stock opened at $161.13 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $155.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.64, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. AutoNation has a 52-week low of $123.81 and a 52-week high of $182.08.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $4.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.49 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 3.41% and a return on equity of 43.48%. AutoNation’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.05 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that AutoNation will post 18.92 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoNation declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, April 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 14.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 10,804 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.56, for a total transaction of $1,669,866.24. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,267,860 shares in the company, valued at $659,640,441.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $672,013,960.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 10,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.56, for a total value of $1,669,866.24. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 have sold 121,279 shares of company stock valued at $19,361,962 in the last three months. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoNation

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in AutoNation during the fourth quarter valued at $42,748,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 754,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,300,000 after acquiring an additional 181,942 shares during the period. Eminence Capital LP increased its holdings in AutoNation by 84.4% in the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 261,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,338,000 after acquiring an additional 119,866 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in AutoNation by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 342,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,491,000 after acquiring an additional 109,571 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 137.5% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 167,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,311,000 after purchasing an additional 96,797 shares during 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.