AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Hits New 52-Week High at $185.78

AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $185.78 and last traded at $185.78, with a volume of 70841 shares. The stock had previously closed at $179.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $164.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Four equities research 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.00.

AutoNation Stock Down 3.5 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $167.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.55. The stock has a market cap of $7.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by ($0.32). AutoNation had a return on equity of 36.28% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $6.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.29 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 17.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.21, for a total transaction of $17,621,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,880,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $683,777,090.07. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.21, for a total transaction of $17,621,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,880,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $683,777,090.07. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total transaction of $4,083,789.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,980,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $685,794,659.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AN. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 74.4% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in AutoNation in the 4th quarter valued at $272,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in AutoNation in the 4th quarter valued at $9,247,000. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 4th quarter worth $2,147,000. Finally, Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is owned by 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.