AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Price Target Raised to $155.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) had its target price increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $142.00 to $155.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on AN. StockNews.com lowered AutoNation from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Guggenheim raised their price target on AutoNation from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on AutoNation in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued an outperform rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $153.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $176.63.

AutoNation Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:AN opened at $165.18 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $156.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 7.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.22. AutoNation has a fifty-two week low of $123.81 and a fifty-two week high of $182.08.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $4.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.04. AutoNation had a net margin of 3.41% and a return on equity of 42.44%. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.05 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AutoNation will post 18.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David B. Edelson sold 10,000 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total value of $1,680,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,793 shares in the company, valued at $8,197,224. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total transaction of $16,126,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 4,167,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,013,960.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David B. Edelson sold 10,000 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total value of $1,680,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 48,793 shares in the company, valued at $8,197,224. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,279 shares of company stock valued at $21,041,962 over the last 90 days. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoNation

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 754,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,300,000 after acquiring an additional 181,942 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 342,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,491,000 after purchasing an additional 109,571 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 300,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,748,000. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 267,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,317,000 after buying an additional 4,720 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

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.