AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Wall Street maintains a “Moderate Buy” consensus on AutoNation, with eight buy, three hold and one sell rating among 12 analysts. The average 12-month price target is $230, well above the reported share price of $155.43.
• AutoNation’s latest quarterly results modestly exceeded expectations, with EPS of $5.56 versus the $5.48 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $6.93 billion and declined 0.6% year over year.
• Institutional investors own 94.62% of the stock, including a new $438.7 million position established by BlackRock. Separately, director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares, reducing her holdings by 10.12%.

Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $230.00.

AN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus lifted their price objective on AutoNation from $241.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on AutoNation from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Stephens raised their target price on AutoNation from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $255.00 target price on shares of AutoNation in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut AutoNation from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $198,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,757,580. The trade was a 10.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of AutoNation

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AN. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in AutoNation in the second quarter valued at $438,689,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,478,991 shares of the company's stock worth $288,784,000 after acquiring an additional 56,641 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 383,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,905,000 after acquiring an additional 30,725 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,925,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 186,969 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,737,000 after acquiring an additional 14,115 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoNation Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE:AN opened at $155.43 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.20, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.81. AutoNation has a 1-year low of $152.86 and a 1-year high of $235.81. The company's fifty day moving average price is $188.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.04. 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 issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.48 by $0.08. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 31.24%. The firm had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AutoNation will post 21.42 EPS for the current year.

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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