Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Stock

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) had its target price increased by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $182.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley‘s price objective suggests a potential downside of 1.73% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on AN. Argus lifted their price objective on AutoNation from $241.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Citigroup lowered their target price on AutoNation from $255.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AutoNation from $202.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research lowered AutoNation from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on AutoNation from $248.00 to $213.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.20.

AutoNation Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of AN stock traded up $1.20 on Monday, hitting $185.20. 121,125 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 461,633. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $175.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.98. AutoNation has a one year low of $151.82 and a one year high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.77.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $5.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.08 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.93 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.63% and a return on equity of 31.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.01 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that AutoNation will post 20.96 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in AutoNation in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $438,689,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,925,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of AutoNation during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,673,000. Private Management Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 85.9% during the third quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 144,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,799,000 after buying an additional 66,929 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased 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 buying an additional 56,641 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Company Profile

AutoNation, Inc is a U.S. automotive retailer that sells new and used vehicles through a network of dealerships. Its stores offer vehicles from a range of manufacturers, along with related products and services.

The company also provides vehicle maintenance and repair, parts, and collision-repair services. Its offerings include financing and insurance products, as well as online tools that support vehicle research and purchasing.

Founded in 1996, AutoNation operates dealerships across the United States, with a presence concentrated in the Sun Belt.