Wells Fargo & Company Increases AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Price Target to $221.00

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has raised its price target for AutoNation from $209.00 to $221.00, suggesting a potential upside of 10.01% from the current stock price.
• AutoNation recently reported earnings of $5.46 EPS, exceeding expectations and showing a 7.6% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has received mixed analyst ratings, with three ratings of hold, five buy ratings, and two strong buy ratings, leading to an overall average rating of "Moderate Buy".

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $209.00 to $221.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded AutoNation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. Bank of America lifted their price target on AutoNation from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Citigroup upgraded AutoNation to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Cfra Research upgraded AutoNation to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on AutoNation from $212.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.38.

AutoNation Stock Performance

Shares of AutoNation stock traded up $0.16 on Monday, reaching $192.44. 379,183 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 492,557. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company's 50-day moving average is $196.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.58. The firm has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.99. AutoNation has a 1-year low of $148.33 and a 1-year high of $217.40.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $5.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.76. The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.77 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.12% and a net margin of 2.31%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.99 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AutoNation will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of AutoNation

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AutoNation by 50.3% in the 4th quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 1,461,213 shares of the company's stock valued at $248,172,000 after buying an additional 488,904 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in AutoNation by 422.7% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 575,000 shares of the company's stock worth $97,658,000 after purchasing an additional 465,000 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its stake in AutoNation by 63.0% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,104,934 shares of the company's stock worth $187,662,000 after purchasing an additional 426,882 shares during the period. Cartenna Capital LP acquired a new position in AutoNation in the 4th quarter worth $56,831,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in AutoNation by 144.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 416,167 shares of the company's stock worth $65,950,000 after purchasing an additional 245,994 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company's stock.

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.