AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Shares Climb 6.7% – Here’s Why

AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)’s share price rose 6.7% on Friday. The company traded as high as $163.47 and last traded at $163.5190. 17,940 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 96% from the average session volume of 448,400 shares. The stock had previously closed at $153.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on AN shares. Argus raised their price objective on AutoNation from $241.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings cut AutoNation from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on AutoNation from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Barclays decreased their target price on AutoNation from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on AutoNation from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.00.

AutoNation Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $186.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.18.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.48 by $0.08. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 31.24%. The business had revenue of $6.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.42 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $198,000.00. Following the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoNation

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in AutoNation in the 2nd quarter valued at about $438,689,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of AutoNation by 4.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,478,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,784,000 after acquiring an additional 56,641 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of AutoNation by 8.7% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 383,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,905,000 after acquiring an additional 30,725 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the second quarter worth about $36,925,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 8.2% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 186,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,737,000 after purchasing an additional 14,115 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About AutoNation

AutoNation, Inc is an automotive retailer headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The company sells new and used vehicles through a network of franchised dealerships representing a range of major automotive brands, as well as through digital retailing channels.

In addition to vehicle sales, AutoNation provides automotive maintenance and repair, parts, collision repair, vehicle protection products, financing assistance and other related services. Its operations support customers throughout the vehicle ownership cycle, from purchase and financing to routine service and repairs.

The company traces its origins to Republic Industries, which entered the automotive retail business in the 1990s and adopted the AutoNation name in 1998.