AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Board Declares Stock Buyback Program

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, April 26th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 14.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price objective on AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on AutoNation in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $185.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $153.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of AutoNation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.38.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of AutoNation stock opened at $161.13 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.24. AutoNation has a 1-year low of $123.81 and a 1-year high of $182.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $155.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.30.

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

Insider Transactions at AutoNation

In other news, Director Jacqueline A. Travisano sold 3,671 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.98, for a total transaction of $539,563.58. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,182 shares in the company, valued at $908,630.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Kimberly Dees sold 3,133 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.28, for a total value of $477,093.24. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 464 shares in the company, valued at $70,657.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jacqueline A. Travisano sold 3,671 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.98, for a total transaction of $539,563.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,182 shares in the company, valued at $908,630.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 121,279 shares of company stock worth $19,361,962. Corporate insiders own 0.74% 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.