AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) Receives $250.00 Average Target Price from Brokerages

AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $246.50.

Several research firms have issued reports on AN. Weiss Ratings cut AutoNation from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $248.00 target price on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AutoNation from $202.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Stephens raised their target price on AutoNation from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on AutoNation from $235.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoNation news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $198,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,757,580. The trade was a 10.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoNation

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AN. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in AutoNation during the second quarter valued at approximately $438,689,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 4.0% during the 1st 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 517,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,878,000 after acquiring an additional 14,204 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 383,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,905,000 after acquiring an additional 30,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation in the fourth quarter worth $69,319,000. 94.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoNation Stock Down 2.8%

NYSE:AN opened at $164.84 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a PE ratio of 7.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $202.92 and a 200-day moving average of $196.82. AutoNation has a 52 week low of $164.70 and a 52 week high of $235.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.48 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.24% and a net margin of 2.82%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. Analysts predict that AutoNation will post 21.69 EPS for the current year.

AutoNation Company Profile

AutoNation, Inc is a leading automotive retailer in the United States. The company sells new and used vehicles through a network of franchised dealerships and provides automotive services including vehicle financing, insurance products, maintenance, repair, parts, and collision-repair services.

In addition to its manufacturer-branded dealerships, AutoNation operates AutoNation USA locations focused primarily on used vehicles and offers digital tools that allow customers to research, purchase, finance, and service vehicles online.