AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Price Target Raised to $224.00

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $202.00 to $224.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 5.37% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $269.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Barclays raised their target price on AutoNation from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings raised AutoNation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Northcoast Research raised AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.18.

AutoNation Stock Performance

NYSE:AN opened at $212.59 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $195.64 and a 200-day moving average of $198.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62. AutoNation has a twelve month low of $176.62 and a twelve month high of $235.81.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.48 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 30.91%. AutoNation’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoNation will post 21.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoNation

In related news, CAO Kimberly Dees sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.91, for a total value of $512,275.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,456 shares in the company, valued at $298,348.96. This represents a 63.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoNation

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AN. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of AutoNation by 192,434.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,424,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $913,557,000 after purchasing an additional 4,422,133 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 4.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,478,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,784,000 after buying an additional 56,641 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in AutoNation by 11.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 907,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,460,000 after buying an additional 91,232 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in AutoNation by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 895,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,808,000 after buying an additional 5,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in AutoNation by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 697,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,967,000 after buying an additional 66,183 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AutoNation Company Profile

AutoNation, Inc is the largest automotive retailer in the United States, operating a network of franchised new vehicle dealerships, pre-owned vehicle superstores and collision-repair centers. The company offers a comprehensive range of automotive products and services, including the sale of new cars and light trucks from leading manufacturers, certified pre-owned vehicles and a wide selection of used models. In addition to retail vehicle sales, AutoNation provides financing, insurance and extended service contracts through its in-house financial services division, as well as genuine and aftermarket parts, factory-recommended maintenance and collision-repair services.

Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, AutoNation was founded in 1996 by entrepreneur H.