AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Citigroup

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) had its price objective cut by Citigroup from $255.00 to $240.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on AN. Northcoast Research raised AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley cut AutoNation from an “overweight” rating to a “negative” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective on shares of AutoNation in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Stephens increased their price objective on AutoNation from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $210.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $227.50.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AN opened at $187.99 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74. AutoNation has a 1 year low of $151.82 and a 1 year high of $235.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.14. The firm has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.82.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.08 by $0.03. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.18% and a net margin of 2.63%. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AutoNation will post 20.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of AutoNation in the second quarter worth about $438,689,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,925,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in AutoNation during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,673,000. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in AutoNation by 85.9% during the 3rd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 144,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,799,000 after purchasing an additional 66,929 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in AutoNation by 3,322.8% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 62,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,995,000 after purchasing an additional 61,107 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AutoNation

AutoNation, Inc is a U.S.-based automotive retailer that sells new and used vehicles through a network of dealerships and online sales channels. The company represents a range of domestic, import and luxury automotive brands, offering passenger cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles.

In addition to vehicle sales, AutoNation provides automotive maintenance and repair, parts, collision-repair services, vehicle protection products and financing options. Its retail operations include traditional dealerships as well as AutoNation USA locations, which focus primarily on used vehicles and related services.

Founded in 1996 as Republic Industries, the company adopted the AutoNation name as it developed its automotive retail business.