AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $174.57.

AN has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $225.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 6th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of AutoNation from $184.00 to $179.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $105.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 24th.

AutoNation Price Performance

NYSE AN opened at $159.22 on Friday. AutoNation has a 52-week low of $94.92 and a 52-week high of $182.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $160.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a PE ratio of 6.60 and a beta of 1.16.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 21st. The company reported $6.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.38. AutoNation had a net margin of 4.50% and a return on equity of 58.35%. The business had revenue of $6.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that AutoNation will post 22.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AutoNation

In other AutoNation news, EVP C Coleman Edmunds sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.35, for a total value of $721,575.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,094 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,458,222.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other AutoNation news, EVP C Coleman Edmunds sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.35, for a total value of $721,575.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,094 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,458,222.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 11,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.60, for a total transaction of $2,042,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,992,388 shares in the company, valued at $886,648,108.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 132,771 shares of company stock valued at $22,839,759. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoNation

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 197.8% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 873,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,311,000 after buying an additional 579,910 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 3,729.5% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 505,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,386,000 after buying an additional 492,074 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 59.0% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,116,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,774,000 after buying an additional 414,240 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,505,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,880,000 after buying an additional 338,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in AutoNation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,128,000. 97.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.