Bank of America Boosts AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Price Target to $220.00

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) had its price objective boosted by Bank of America from $210.00 to $220.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on AN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $153.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $184.43.

AutoNation Trading Down 0.2 %

AN stock opened at $172.01 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. AutoNation has a twelve month low of $123.81 and a twelve month high of $182.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $157.08.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $4.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.49 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 3.41% and a return on equity of 42.44%. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.05 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that AutoNation will post 18.21 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoNation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Friday, April 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 14.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other AutoNation news, Director David B. Edelson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 48,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,197,224. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other AutoNation news, Director David B. Edelson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 48,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,197,224. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total value of $4,083,789.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,980,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $685,794,659.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 133,703 shares of company stock worth $23,384,790 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AutoNation

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Realta Investment Advisors raised its holdings in AutoNation by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 1,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its stake in AutoNation by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 4,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in AutoNation by 45.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in AutoNation by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in AutoNation by 0.3% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 32,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,393,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoNation Company Profile

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.