AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Trading Up 7.8%

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AN shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of AutoNation from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Bank of America dropped their target price on AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley raised AutoNation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Guggenheim increased their price target on AutoNation from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of AutoNation in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $185.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.00.

AutoNation Trading Up 5.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a PE ratio of 7.63, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $153.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.64.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $4.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.49. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.49 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 48.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.05 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoNation news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 3,671 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.67, for a total value of $549,438.57. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,182 shares in the company, valued at $925,259.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other AutoNation news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 3,671 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.67, for a total transaction of $549,438.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,182 shares in the company, valued at $925,259.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,167,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,013,960.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 121,279 shares of company stock valued at $19,361,962. 0.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoNation

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AN. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 4th quarter valued at $42,748,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 754,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,300,000 after purchasing an additional 181,942 shares during the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 84.4% during the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 261,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,338,000 after buying an additional 119,866 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 342,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,491,000 after buying an additional 109,571 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 137.5% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 167,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,311,000 after acquiring an additional 96,797 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.