JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Price Target to $155.00

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) had its price objective lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $142.00 to $155.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on AN. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded AutoNation from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and lifted their price target for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on AutoNation from $153.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI began coverage on AutoNation in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an outperform rating and a $185.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered AutoNation from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $176.63.

AutoNation Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of AutoNation stock opened at $165.18 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 7.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.22. AutoNation has a 52 week low of $123.81 and a 52 week high of $182.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $156.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.78. 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 (NYSE:AN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $4.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.04. 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 3.41% and a return on equity of 42.44%. AutoNation’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.05 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AutoNation will post 18.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, April 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 14.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David B. Edelson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $1,680,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 48,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,197,224. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 10,804 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.56, for a total value of $1,669,866.24. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,267,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,640,441.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David B. Edelson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total value of $1,680,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 48,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,197,224. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,279 shares of company stock valued at $21,041,962 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AutoNation

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in AutoNation during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in AutoNation during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in shares of AutoNation in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.