Share Repurchase Plan Authorized by AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Board of Directors

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, April 26th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 14.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

AutoNation Trading Up 1.1 %

AN stock traded up $1.70 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $162.85. The company had a trading volume of 491,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 464,957. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. AutoNation has a one year low of $123.81 and a one year high of $182.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $155.21 and a 200-day moving average of $145.30. The stock has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a PE ratio of 7.64, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.24.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $4.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.49 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 3.41% and a return on equity of 42.44%. AutoNation's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.05 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that AutoNation will post 18.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on AN shares. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $185.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded AutoNation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded AutoNation from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on AutoNation from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $175.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoNation news, Director David B. Edelson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $1,680,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,197,224. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other AutoNation news, Director David B. Edelson sold 10,000 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total value of $1,680,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 48,793 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,197,224. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 10,804 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.56, for a total transaction of $1,669,866.24. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,267,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,640,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 131,279 shares of company stock worth $21,041,962. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

AutoNation Company Profile

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.