AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $244.00.

AN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on AutoNation from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays started coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th.

AutoNation Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:AN opened at $216.20 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $7.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $206.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.40. AutoNation has a 52-week low of $148.33 and a 52-week high of $228.92.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $5.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.85 by $0.16. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 2.38%.The company had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.74 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.02 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that AutoNation will post 18.15 EPS for the current year.

AutoNation announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, October 31st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoNation

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AutoNation during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,401,000. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,251,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 873.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $971,000 after buying an additional 4,384 shares during the last quarter. Davis Capital Management bought a new position in shares of AutoNation in the third quarter valued at $2,024,000. Finally, Dalal Street LLC acquired a new position in AutoNation during the second quarter worth $12,118,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

About AutoNation

AutoNation, Inc is the largest automotive retailer in the United States, operating a network of franchised new vehicle dealerships, pre-owned vehicle superstores and collision-repair centers. The company offers a comprehensive range of automotive products and services, including the sale of new cars and light trucks from leading manufacturers, certified pre-owned vehicles and a wide selection of used models. In addition to retail vehicle sales, AutoNation provides financing, insurance and extended service contracts through its in-house financial services division, as well as genuine and aftermarket parts, factory-recommended maintenance and collision-repair services.

Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, AutoNation was founded in 1996 by entrepreneur H.