AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Stock Price Target Cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan cut AutoNation’s price target from $210 to $185 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying 17.7% upside from the stock’s $157.19 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable overall, with eight Buy ratings, three Holds and one Sell; MarketBeat lists a “Moderate Buy” consensus and a $233.50 average price target.
• AutoNation’s latest quarter modestly beat earnings expectations, reporting $5.56 in EPS versus $5.48 expected, though revenue fell 0.6% year over year to $6.93 billion.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $210.00 to $185.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target indicates a potential upside of 17.70% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on AN. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $248.00 price objective on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Stephens raised their target price on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of AutoNation from $202.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of AutoNation from $290.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $233.50.

AutoNation Stock Performance

Shares of AutoNation stock traded down $4.49 on Tuesday, reaching $157.19. 342,973 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 442,952. The company has a 50 day moving average of $195.95 and a 200 day moving average of $195.35. AutoNation has a 52 week low of $152.86 and a 52 week high of $235.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of 7.27, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.81. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.48 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.24% and a net margin of 2.82%.The company's quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that AutoNation will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $198,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,989 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,757,580. This represents a 10.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoNation

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in AutoNation in the second quarter valued at $438,689,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 4.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,478,991 shares of the company's stock worth $288,784,000 after buying an additional 56,641 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in AutoNation by 8.7% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the second quarter worth $36,925,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in AutoNation by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 186,969 shares of the company's stock worth $34,737,000 after buying an additional 14,115 shares in the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AutoNation Company Profile

AutoNation, Inc is an automotive retailer headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The company sells new and used vehicles through a network of franchised dealerships representing a range of major automotive brands, as well as through digital retailing channels.

In addition to vehicle sales, AutoNation provides automotive maintenance and repair, parts, collision repair, vehicle protection products, financing assistance and other related services. Its operations support customers throughout the vehicle ownership cycle, from purchase and financing to routine service and repairs.

The company traces its origins to Republic Industries, which entered the automotive retail business in the 1990s and adopted the AutoNation name in 1998.

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