AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $187.71.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AN. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $164.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd.

AutoNation Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of AN stock opened at $170.84 on Monday. AutoNation has a 12-month low of $123.81 and a 12-month high of $197.18. The company has a market capitalization of $6.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $167.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.31 by ($0.32). AutoNation had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 36.50%. The firm 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 business earned $6.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that AutoNation will post 17.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, April 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 14.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at AutoNation

In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,980,467 shares in the company, valued at $685,794,659.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 53,562 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.45, for a total value of $10,361,568.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,825,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $740,108,361.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of AutoNation 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,980,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $685,794,659.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 177,265 shares of company stock worth $32,066,359. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in AutoNation in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,041,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of AutoNation by 2.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,605,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,910,000 after purchasing an additional 41,712 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the second quarter worth $15,832,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $4,700,000 after purchasing an additional 5,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA lifted its position in shares of AutoNation by 60.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.62% 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.