AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Price Target Raised to $169.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $153.00 to $169.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised AutoNation from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and boosted their price target for the stock 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 report on Wednesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued an outperform rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of AutoNation from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoNation has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $175.38.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AN opened at $165.39 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.24. AutoNation has a 1 year low of $123.81 and a 1 year high of $182.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.12.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $4.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.04. AutoNation had a net margin of 3.41% and a return on equity of 43.48%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.05 EPS. AutoNation’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AutoNation will post 18.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoNation news, Director Jacqueline A. Travisano sold 3,671 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.98, for a total value of $539,563.58. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $908,630.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other AutoNation news, Director Jacqueline A. Travisano sold 3,671 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.98, for a total value of $539,563.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $908,630.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total value of $16,126,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,167,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,013,960.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 121,279 shares of company stock valued at $19,361,962. 0.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoNation

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AN. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 97,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,208,000 after purchasing an additional 2,497 shares in the last quarter. First National Trust Co bought a new position in AutoNation during the 1st quarter valued at about $208,000. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in AutoNation in the first quarter valued at about $96,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in AutoNation by 10.3% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 9,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,595,000 after buying an additional 898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Conscious Wealth Investments LLC grew its stake in AutoNation by 4.2% during the first quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 19,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,053,000 after buying an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.