JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Price Target to $160.00

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) had its price objective hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $155.00 to $160.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $164.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoNation has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $187.71.

AutoNation Stock Up 3.6 %

AN opened at $170.30 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $167.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.79. AutoNation has a twelve month low of $123.81 and a twelve month high of $197.18. The firm has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.07, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.21.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by ($0.32). AutoNation had a return on equity of 36.28% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $6.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that AutoNation will post 17.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, April 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 14.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total value of $4,083,789.87. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,980,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $685,794,659.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 53,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.45, for a total transaction of $10,361,568.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,825,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $740,108,361.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total transaction of $4,083,789.87. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,980,467 shares in the company, valued at $685,794,659.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 177,265 shares of company stock valued at $32,066,359. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoNation

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AN. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 1.2% in the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $866,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 4,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 45.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 0.3% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 32,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,393,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.