AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $230.66 and last traded at $228.1230, with a volume of 124439 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $220.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of AutoNation in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Northcoast Research upgraded AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on AutoNation from $208.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group began coverage on AutoNation in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $234.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $269.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoNation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $246.18.

AutoNation Trading Up 4.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $7.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $193.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $198.28.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $4.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.71 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.65 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 2.47%.AutoNation’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.68 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoNation

In other AutoNation news, CAO Kimberly Dees sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.91, for a total transaction of $512,275.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,348.96. The trade was a 63.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoNation

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in AutoNation by 192,434.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,424,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $913,557,000 after purchasing an additional 4,422,133 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 4.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,478,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,784,000 after purchasing an additional 56,641 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 11.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 907,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,460,000 after purchasing an additional 91,232 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 895,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,808,000 after purchasing an additional 5,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 10.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 697,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,967,000 after buying an additional 66,183 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Company Profile

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.