AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Shares Cross Above 50-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $176.82 and traded as high as $192.99. AutoNation shares last traded at $179.05, with a volume of 1,244,844 shares traded.

Key Stories Impacting AutoNation

Here are the key news stories impacting AutoNation this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AutoNation reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $5.11 per share, above the $5.08 consensus estimate, while revenue of $7.01 billion exceeded expectations of $6.93 billion. Earnings also improved from $5.01 per share a year earlier. AutoNation third-quarter earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Record After-Sales gross profit and sharply higher AutoNation Finance income—$15.4 million versus $1.5 million a year earlier—helped support results despite a challenging vehicle market. AutoNation service resilience article
• Positive Sentiment: The company repurchased approximately $620 million of stock during the first nine months and received an additional $1 billion authorization. Management’s view that AN shares are undervalued could provide continued support for the stock and boost per-share results. Why AutoNation stock popped after earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue was essentially flat year over year at roughly $7.0 billion. Liquidity stood at $1.5 billion, including $51 million in cash, while the company maintained strong reported returns, including a 31.24% return on equity.
• Negative Sentiment: GAAP net income fell 25% to $162.3 million, operating income declined 16%, and GAAP diluted EPS decreased to $4.87 from $5.65. Gross profit also slipped 2% year over year. AutoNation third-quarter revenue and net income report
• Negative Sentiment: Chief Executive Officer Mike Manley warned that economic pressure is causing consumers to delay vehicle repairs, creating a risk for future After-Sales demand even though that division was resilient this quarter. AutoNation CEO warns about delayed car repairs

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on AN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Northcoast Research upgraded AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Barclays cut their price target on AutoNation from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of AutoNation from an “overweight” rating to a “negative” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.00.

AutoNation Stock Up 5.7%

The stock has a market cap of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.78.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.08 by $0.03. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.24% and a net margin of 2.82%. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.01 earnings per share. AutoNation’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AutoNation

In related news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $198,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,989 shares in the company, valued at $1,757,580. This trade represents a 10.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoNation

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AN. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of AutoNation in the 2nd quarter worth about $438,689,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,478,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,784,000 after buying an additional 56,641 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 8.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 383,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,905,000 after purchasing an additional 30,725 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in AutoNation during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,925,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in AutoNation by 8.2% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 186,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,737,000 after purchasing an additional 14,115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

About AutoNation

AutoNation, Inc is a U.S.-based automotive retailer that sells new and used vehicles through a network of dealerships and online sales channels. The company represents a range of domestic, import and luxury automotive brands, offering passenger cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles.

In addition to vehicle sales, AutoNation provides automotive maintenance and repair, parts, collision-repair services, vehicle protection products and financing options. Its retail operations include traditional dealerships as well as AutoNation USA locations, which focus primarily on used vehicles and related services.

Founded in 1996 as Republic Industries, the company adopted the AutoNation name as it developed its automotive retail business.