AutoNation (NYSE:AN) & Titan Machinery (NASDAQ:TITN) Head to Head Comparison

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) and Titan Machinery (NASDAQ:TITN) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares AutoNation and Titan Machinery’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AutoNation	2.31%	31.12%	5.72%
Titan Machinery	-2.23%	-8.22%	-2.64%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares AutoNation and Titan Machinery”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AutoNation	$27.46 billion	0.29	$692.20 million	$15.96	13.17
Titan Machinery	$2.67 billion	0.17	-$36.91 million	($2.63)	-7.39

AutoNation has higher revenue and earnings than Titan Machinery. Titan Machinery is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AutoNation, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

94.6% of AutoNation shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.4% of Titan Machinery shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of AutoNation shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 10.8% of Titan Machinery shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for AutoNation and Titan Machinery, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AutoNation	0	3	4	2	2.89
Titan Machinery	0	2	2	2	3.00

AutoNation presently has a consensus target price of $223.25, indicating a potential upside of 6.20%. Titan Machinery has a consensus target price of $22.25, indicating a potential upside of 14.51%. Given Titan Machinery’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Titan Machinery is more favorable than AutoNation.

Risk & Volatility

AutoNation has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Titan Machinery has a beta of 1.37, meaning that its stock price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

AutoNation beats Titan Machinery on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AutoNation

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. The company also provides automotive finance and insurance products comprising vehicle services and other protection products; and indirect financing for vehicles, as well as arranges finance for vehicle purchases through third-party finance sources. It owns and operates new vehicle franchises from stores located primarily in metropolitan markets in the Sunbelt region, as well as AutoNation-branded collision centers, AutoNation USA used vehicle stores, AutoNation-branded automotive auction operations, and parts distribution centers. The company was formerly known as Republic Industries, Inc. and changed its name to AutoNation, Inc. in 1999. AutoNation, Inc. was incorporated in 1980 and is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

About Titan Machinery

Titan Machinery Inc. owns and operates a network of full service agricultural and construction equipment stores in the United States, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Agriculture, Construction, Europe, and Australia. The company sells new and used equipment, including agricultural and construction equipment manufactured under the CNH Industrial family of brands, as well as equipment from various other manufacturers. Its agricultural equipment includes machinery and attachments for use in the production of food, fiber, feed grain, feed stock, and renewable energy; and home and garden applications, as well as maintenance of commercial, residential, and government properties. The company’s construction equipment comprises heavy construction machinery, light industrial machinery for commercial and residential construction, and road and highway construction machinery. It also sells maintenance and replacement parts. In addition, the company offers repair and maintenance services that include warranty repairs, off-site and on-site repair services, scheduling off-season maintenance services, and notifying customers of periodic service requirements; and training programs to customers. Further, it rents equipment; and provides ancillary equipment support services, such as equipment transportation, global positioning system signal subscriptions and other precision farming products, farm data management products, and CNH Industrial finance and insurance products. The company operates in Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, Washington, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, the United States; Bulgaria, Germany, Romania, and Ukraine, Europe; and New South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria, Australia. Titan Machinery Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in West Fargo, North Dakota.