Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Stock Price

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) had its price objective cut by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $208.00 to $202.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 8.40% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on AN. Barclays boosted their price objective on AutoNation from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AutoNation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $234.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of AutoNation from $269.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of AutoNation in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.30.

AutoNation Stock Performance

Shares of AN opened at $186.34 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 10.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $192.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $199.27. AutoNation has a 52-week low of $176.62 and a 52-week high of $228.92.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $4.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.71 by ($0.02). AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 2.47%.The company had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoNation will post 21.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoNation news, CAO Kimberly Dees sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.91, for a total value of $512,275.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,348.96. This represents a 63.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Simcoe Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in AutoNation during the 3rd quarter worth $18,988,000. Emmett Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,496,000. 44 Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in AutoNation during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,378,000. Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in AutoNation by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 548,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,034,000 after buying an additional 151,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in AutoNation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,130,000. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AutoNation

AutoNation, Inc is the largest automotive retailer in the United States, operating a network of franchised new vehicle dealerships, pre-owned vehicle superstores and collision-repair centers. The company offers a comprehensive range of automotive products and services, including the sale of new cars and light trucks from leading manufacturers, certified pre-owned vehicles and a wide selection of used models. In addition to retail vehicle sales, AutoNation provides financing, insurance and extended service contracts through its in-house financial services division, as well as genuine and aftermarket parts, factory-recommended maintenance and collision-repair services.

Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, AutoNation was founded in 1996 by entrepreneur H.