AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $199.49, but opened at $206.22. AutoNation shares last traded at $197.3850, with a volume of 35,678 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AN. Barclays increased their price objective on AutoNation from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $287.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price target on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Northcoast Research raised AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on AutoNation from $241.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoNation currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $250.00.

AutoNation Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $200.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $197.79. The company has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.48 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.24% and a net margin of 2.82%.AutoNation’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AutoNation

In other AutoNation news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $198,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,757,580. The trade was a 10.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in AutoNation by 17,067.0% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,484,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,018,969,000 after purchasing an additional 5,452,573 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in AutoNation by 49.9% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the period. AlphaGrep UK Ltd acquired a new stake in AutoNation in the 2nd quarter worth about $393,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 45.2% in the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the period. Finally, Prosperitas Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 13.9% during the second quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC now owns 21,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,084,000 after purchasing an additional 2,689 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AutoNation

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.