AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Hits New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $164.70 and last traded at $164.8370, with a volume of 463589 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $169.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on AN shares. Northcoast Research upgraded AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on AutoNation from $290.00 to $255.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Barclays raised their target price on AutoNation from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $241.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoNation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $246.50.

AutoNation Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The business’s fifty day moving average is $201.21 and its 200 day moving average is $196.40. The company has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.72, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.72.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.24% and a net margin of 2.82%.AutoNation’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoNation news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 7,989 shares in the company, valued at $1,757,580. This trade represents a 10.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoNation

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in AutoNation in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $438,689,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AutoNation during the 4th quarter valued at $69,319,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the second quarter worth $36,925,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the second quarter worth $33,673,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 3,322.8% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 62,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,995,000 after acquiring an additional 61,107 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoNation Company Profile

AutoNation, Inc is a leading automotive retailer in the United States. The company sells new and used vehicles through a network of franchised dealerships and provides automotive services including vehicle financing, insurance products, maintenance, repair, parts, and collision-repair services.

In addition to its manufacturer-branded dealerships, AutoNation operates AutoNation USA locations focused primarily on used vehicles and offers digital tools that allow customers to research, purchase, finance, and service vehicles online.