AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• AutoNation's stock price reached a new 52-week high of $224.00, closing at $222.29 with significant trading volume of over 373,000 shares.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for AutoNation, with target price adjustments suggesting a range between $200.00 and $255.00, highlighting its potential as a buy or a hold.
• The company's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $5.46, beating estimates, and a revenue increase of 7.6% year-over-year, indicating strong financial performance.

AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $224.00 and last traded at $222.29, with a volume of 373263 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $220.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim decreased their target price on AutoNation from $230.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AutoNation from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of AutoNation from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on AutoNation from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoNation has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $223.25.

AutoNation Trading Down 1.6%

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $205.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.89.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $5.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.76. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.12% and a net margin of 2.31%.AutoNation's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.99 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of AutoNation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in AutoNation by 7.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,256,308 shares of the company's stock valued at $527,261,000 after acquiring an additional 219,474 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its stake in AutoNation by 8.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,964,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $318,749,000 after acquiring an additional 149,959 shares during the period. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AutoNation by 50.3% in the fourth quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 1,461,213 shares of the company's stock valued at $248,172,000 after acquiring an additional 488,904 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its stake in AutoNation by 63.0% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,104,934 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,662,000 after acquiring an additional 426,882 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in AutoNation by 20.6% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 815,931 shares of the company's stock valued at $162,085,000 after acquiring an additional 139,363 shares during the period. 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.