AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Given New $220.00 Price Target at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays lowered its AutoNation price target from $230 to $220 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying approximately 18.36% upside from the stock’s current price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: AutoNation has eight Buy, three Hold and two Sell ratings, resulting in an overall “Hold” consensus and an average price target of $229.
• AutoNation exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $5.11 in EPS versus a $5.08 estimate and $7.01 billion in revenue versus a $6.93 billion forecast, although revenue declined 0.4% year over year.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at Barclays from $230.00 to $220.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Barclays's price objective points to a potential upside of 18.36% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $241.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on AutoNation from $202.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Northcoast Research raised AutoNation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $240.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on AutoNation from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $229.00.

AutoNation Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of AN stock opened at $185.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.93, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.81. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $176.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $193.59. AutoNation has a 1 year low of $151.82 and a 1 year high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.18.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $5.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.08 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.24% and a net margin of 2.82%. The firm's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.01 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AutoNation will post 21.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at AutoNation

In related news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $198,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,757,580. This trade represents a 10.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoNation

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of AutoNation in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $438,689,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in AutoNation by 4.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,478,991 shares of the company's stock worth $288,784,000 after purchasing an additional 56,641 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in AutoNation by 8.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 383,615 shares of the company's stock worth $74,905,000 after purchasing an additional 30,725 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in AutoNation in the second quarter worth $36,925,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in AutoNation by 8.2% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 186,969 shares of the company's stock worth $34,737,000 after purchasing an additional 14,115 shares in the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoNation Company Profile

AutoNation, Inc is a U.S.-based automotive retailer that sells new and used vehicles through a network of dealerships and online sales channels. The company represents a range of domestic, import and luxury automotive brands, offering passenger cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles.

In addition to vehicle sales, AutoNation provides automotive maintenance and repair, parts, collision-repair services, vehicle protection products and financing options. Its retail operations include traditional dealerships as well as AutoNation USA locations, which focus primarily on used vehicles and related services.

Founded in 1996 as Republic Industries, the company adopted the AutoNation name as it developed its automotive retail business.

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