Reviewing AutoNation (AN) & Its Competitors

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) is one of 285 public companies in the “Specialty Retail” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare AutoNation to related companies based on the strength of its dividends, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.6% of AutoNation shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.6% of shares of all “Specialty Retail” companies are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of AutoNation shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 20.5% of shares of all “Specialty Retail” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares AutoNation and its rivals revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
AutoNation	$27.63 billion	$649.10 million	8.83
AutoNation Competitors	$7.05 billion	$386.47 million	32.34

AutoNation has higher revenue and earnings than its rivals. AutoNation is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Volatility and Risk

AutoNation has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AutoNation’s rivals have a beta of 1.91, suggesting that their average stock price is 91% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for AutoNation and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AutoNation	2	4	7	0	2.38
AutoNation Competitors	3667	15571	21603	589	2.46

AutoNation presently has a consensus price target of $227.50, indicating a potential upside of 23.78%. As a group, “Specialty Retail” companies have a potential upside of 5.81%. Given AutoNation’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe AutoNation is more favorable than its rivals.

Profitability

This table compares AutoNation and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AutoNation	2.63%	31.18%	4.72%
AutoNation Competitors	-3.69%	-13.95%	3.18%

Summary

AutoNation beats its rivals on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

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. The company also provides automotive finance and insurance products comprising vehicle services and other protection products; and indirect financing for vehicles, as well as arranges finance for vehicle purchases through third-party finance sources. It owns and operates new vehicle franchises from stores located primarily in metropolitan markets in the Sunbelt region, as well as AutoNation-branded collision centers, AutoNation USA used vehicle stores, AutoNation-branded automotive auction operations, and parts distribution centers. The company was formerly known as Republic Industries, Inc. and changed its name to AutoNation, Inc. in 1999. AutoNation, Inc. was incorporated in 1980 and is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.