Wells Fargo & Company Increases AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Price Target to $209.00

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $187.00 to $209.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price suggests a potential downside of 2.77% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of AutoNation from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AutoNation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 10th. Citigroup raised shares of AutoNation to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of AutoNation to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoNation currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.88.

AutoNation Price Performance

AN opened at $214.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.72, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $191.66 and a 200 day moving average of $180.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.77. AutoNation has a fifty-two week low of $148.33 and a fifty-two week high of $217.40.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.35 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $6.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.53 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 30.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that AutoNation will post 18.15 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AN. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AutoNation by 50.3% in the 4th quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 1,461,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,172,000 after purchasing an additional 488,904 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in AutoNation by 422.7% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 575,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,658,000 after purchasing an additional 465,000 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its holdings in AutoNation by 63.0% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,104,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,662,000 after purchasing an additional 426,882 shares in the last quarter. Cartenna Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the 4th quarter worth about $56,831,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 144.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 416,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,950,000 after buying an additional 245,994 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.