AutoNation (AN) to Release Earnings on Friday

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) is scheduled to be releasing its earnings data before the market opens on Friday, April 26th. Analysts expect AutoNation to post earnings of $4.49 per share for the quarter. Persons that are interested in registering for the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $5.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $6.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.67 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 48.76% and a net margin of 3.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.37 EPS. On average, analysts expect AutoNation to post $19 EPS for the current fiscal year and $20 EPS for the next fiscal year.

AutoNation Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AN opened at $158.36 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $152.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $6.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.99, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.24. AutoNation has a 1 year low of $123.81 and a 1 year high of $182.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AN shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded AutoNation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com downgraded AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on AutoNation from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Bank of America cut their price objective on AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on AutoNation from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Kimberly Dees sold 3,133 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.28, for a total transaction of $477,093.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 464 shares in the company, valued at $70,657.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 10,804 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.56, for a total transaction of $1,669,866.24. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,267,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,640,441.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Kimberly Dees sold 3,133 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.28, for a total transaction of $477,093.24. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 464 shares in the company, valued at $70,657.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 121,279 shares of company stock worth $19,361,962. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

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.