AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Trading Up 7.8%

AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) shot up 7.8% on Friday . The company traded as high as $173.85 and last traded at $172.87. 149,137 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 443,239 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com downgraded AutoNation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Bank of America decreased their price target on AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised AutoNation from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $173.00.

AutoNation Stock Up 5.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.63, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $153.76 and a 200-day moving average of $144.64.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $4.49 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $4.49. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.49 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 48.76% and a net margin of 3.79%. AutoNation's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.05 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AutoNation

In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total transaction of $16,126,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,167,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,013,960.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Kimberly Dees sold 3,133 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.28, for a total value of $477,093.24. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,657.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total transaction of $16,126,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,167,270 shares of the company's stock, valued at $672,013,960.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 121,279 shares of company stock valued at $19,361,962 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First National Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation in the first quarter worth $208,000. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in AutoNation in the first quarter valued at about $96,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in AutoNation by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 9,635 shares of the company's stock worth $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares during the last quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoNation by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 19,752 shares of the company's stock worth $3,053,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 1st quarter valued at about $444,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% 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.

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