AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Price Target Lowered to $240.00 at Barclays

Key Points

• Barclays trimmed its price target on AutoNation to $240 from $245 but maintained an "overweight" rating, implying roughly a 23% upside from the current share price.
• Shares traded near $194.93 (down ~1%), while the consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $248.11 average target; AutoNation recently beat EPS ($5.08 vs. $4.91) even as revenue fell 3.9% year‑over‑year.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by stock analysts at Barclays from $245.00 to $240.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. Barclays's target price suggests a potential upside of 23.12% from the company's current price.

AN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on AutoNation from $233.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered AutoNation from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on AutoNation from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Bank of America began coverage on AutoNation in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AutoNation from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $235.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoNation currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $248.11.

AutoNation Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE:AN traded down $1.89 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $194.93. 98,651 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 440,446. The business's 50-day moving average price is $197.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $205.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43 and a beta of 0.81. AutoNation has a 1 year low of $152.66 and a 1 year high of $228.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $5.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.91 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.21 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.69% and a net margin of 2.35%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.97 earnings per share. Analysts predict that AutoNation will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of AutoNation

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AN. HM Payson & Co. bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the third quarter worth $31,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the third quarter worth $37,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 355.3% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 173 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 37.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company's stock.

AutoNation Company Profile

AutoNation, Inc is the largest automotive retailer in the United States, operating a network of franchised new vehicle dealerships, pre-owned vehicle superstores and collision-repair centers. The company offers a comprehensive range of automotive products and services, including the sale of new cars and light trucks from leading manufacturers, certified pre-owned vehicles and a wide selection of used models. In addition to retail vehicle sales, AutoNation provides financing, insurance and extended service contracts through its in-house financial services division, as well as genuine and aftermarket parts, factory-recommended maintenance and collision-repair services.

Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, AutoNation was founded in 1996 by entrepreneur H.

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