Auto Trader Group plc (LON:AUTO) Receives Consensus Rating of "Reduce" from Analysts

Key Points

• Auto Trader Group has a consensus analyst rating of "Reduce", based on coverage from six brokerages: two sell ratings, three hold ratings, and one buy rating.
• Several firms have recently cut their outlooks or price targets, including UBS, JPMorgan, RBC, and Citigroup, reflecting a softer near-term view on the stock.
• Despite the cautious sentiment, insiders have been buying shares recently, including purchases by Nathan Coe and Megan Quinn, while the stock was trading around GBX 505.78 after falling 2.1%.

Auto Trader Group plc (LON:AUTO - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Reduce" from the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is GBX 550.33.

AUTO has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group reissued a "sell" rating and issued a GBX 470 target price on shares of Auto Trader Group in a report on Monday, May 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Auto Trader Group from GBX 515 to GBX 445 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Auto Trader Group from GBX 850 to GBX 816 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Auto Trader Group from GBX 830 to GBX 535 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Auto Trader Group from GBX 880 to GBX 526 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Nathan Coe acquired 11,000 shares of Auto Trader Group stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 448 per share, with a total value of £49,280. Also, insider Megan Quinn acquired 10,900 shares of Auto Trader Group stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 462 per share, with a total value of £50,358. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 69,952 shares of company stock valued at $31,918,459. 3.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Auto Trader Group Stock Down 2.1%

AUTO stock opened at GBX 505.78 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of £3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 50.60. Auto Trader Group has a twelve month low of GBX 418.60 and a twelve month high of GBX 844.40. The company's 50 day moving average is GBX 481.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 498.41.

Auto Trader Group (LON:AUTO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The company reported GBX 34.17 EPS for the quarter. Auto Trader Group had a net margin of 47.08% and a return on equity of 60.53%. The firm had revenue of £624.30 million for the quarter. Research analysts expect that Auto Trader Group will post 32.7973074 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Auto Trader Group Company Profile

Autotrader Group plc is the UK's largest automotive marketplace and a leading digital platform for the automotive industry. Listed on the London Stock Exchange since March 2015, the company is a member of the FTSE 100 Index. Autotrader's purpose is Driving Change Together. Responsibly. The company uses advanced data science, artificial intelligence and scalable technology to improve how vehicles are bought and sold, while building stronger partnerships with its customers and the wider automotive ecosystem.

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