Brokerages Set AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) Price Target at $178.00

AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $178.00.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AN shares. StockNews.com cut shares of AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of AutoNation in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of AutoNation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoNation

In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 77,284 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.58, for a total transaction of $11,019,152.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,659,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $664,303,175.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 77,284 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.58, for a total transaction of $11,019,152.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,659,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $664,303,175.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 579,060 shares of company stock valued at $84,837,845. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoNation

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AN. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 13.8% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 13,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,656 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoNation during the first quarter worth $215,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 2.8% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 11,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,177,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 47.0% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 1,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 33.6% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 25,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,577,000 after acquiring an additional 6,508 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AutoNation Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:AN opened at $158.46 on Tuesday. AutoNation has a one year low of $123.81 and a one year high of $182.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $150.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.99, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.24.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $5.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.85 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $6.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.67 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 48.76%. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.37 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that AutoNation will post 19.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.