AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Stock Price Down 5.7% – Here’s What Happened

AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) traded down 5.7% during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $153.11 and last traded at $152.67. 380,334 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average session volume of 447,882 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on AN shares. Weiss Ratings cut AutoNation from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $202.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Stephens boosted their price objective on AutoNation from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on AutoNation from $241.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $230.00.

AutoNation Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.07, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $183.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.78.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.48 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.24% and a net margin of 2.82%. The company’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at AutoNation

In other AutoNation news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $198,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,757,580. This trade represents a 10.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AN. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in AutoNation during the 2nd quarter valued at $438,689,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of AutoNation in the second quarter worth about $36,925,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in AutoNation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,673,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 3,322.8% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 62,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,995,000 after purchasing an additional 61,107 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of AutoNation by 4.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,478,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,784,000 after acquiring an additional 56,641 shares in the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoNation Company Profile

AutoNation, Inc is a U.S.-based automotive retailer that sells new and used vehicles through a network of dealerships and online sales channels. The company represents a range of domestic, import and luxury automotive brands, offering passenger cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles.

In addition to vehicle sales, AutoNation provides automotive maintenance and repair, parts, collision-repair services, vehicle protection products and financing options. Its retail operations include traditional dealerships as well as AutoNation USA locations, which focus primarily on used vehicles and related services.

Founded in 1996 as Republic Industries, the company adopted the AutoNation name as it developed its automotive retail business.