JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Price Target to $160.00

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) had its price objective lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $164.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $187.71.

AutoNation Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of AutoNation stock opened at $170.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.73. AutoNation has a 12-month low of $123.81 and a 12-month high of $197.18.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by ($0.32). AutoNation had a return on equity of 36.28% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $6.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that AutoNation will post 17.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, April 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 14.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total transaction of $4,083,789.87. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,980,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $685,794,659.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total transaction of $4,083,789.87. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,980,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $685,794,659.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 53,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.45, for a total transaction of $10,361,568.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,825,838 shares in the company, valued at $740,108,361.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 177,265 shares of company stock valued at $32,066,359 in the last 90 days. 0.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoNation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 25.1% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,700,000 after buying an additional 5,917 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA boosted its position in AutoNation by 60.7% during the second quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA now owns 2,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares during the period. Factorial Partners LLC boosted its position in AutoNation by 33.3% during the second quarter. Factorial Partners LLC now owns 3,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in AutoNation by 36.2% during the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 30,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,929,000 after purchasing an additional 8,225 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC bought a new position in AutoNation during the second quarter worth $251,000. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.