Stephens Boosts AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Price Target to $232.00

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) had its target price upped by Stephens from $228.00 to $232.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Stephens’ price target points to a potential upside of 12.28% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AutoNation from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Sunday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore boosted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.11.

AutoNation Stock Performance

Shares of AN stock opened at $206.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $211.58 and a 200 day moving average of $210.38. AutoNation has a 52 week low of $148.33 and a 52 week high of $228.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $5.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.91 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 31.30%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.97 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AutoNation will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoNation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, October 31st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoNation

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in AutoNation by 192,434.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,424,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $913,557,000 after purchasing an additional 4,422,133 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,176,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $694,950,000 after buying an additional 34,153 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in AutoNation by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,422,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,697,000 after purchasing an additional 29,697 shares during the period. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC grew its stake in AutoNation by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 1,214,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,262,000 after acquiring an additional 84,455 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 11.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 907,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,460,000 after purchasing an additional 91,232 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Company Profile

AutoNation, Inc is the largest automotive retailer in the United States, operating a network of franchised new vehicle dealerships, pre-owned vehicle superstores and collision-repair centers. The company offers a comprehensive range of automotive products and services, including the sale of new cars and light trucks from leading manufacturers, certified pre-owned vehicles and a wide selection of used models. In addition to retail vehicle sales, AutoNation provides financing, insurance and extended service contracts through its in-house financial services division, as well as genuine and aftermarket parts, factory-recommended maintenance and collision-repair services.

Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, AutoNation was founded in 1996 by entrepreneur H.