Analysts Set AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) PT at $246.18

Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $247.4545.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $248.00 price target on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised AutoNation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 target price on shares of AutoNation in a report on Monday. Barclays raised their price target on AutoNation from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoNation

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in AutoNation by 192,434.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,424,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $913,557,000 after acquiring an additional 4,422,133 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the fourth quarter worth about $69,319,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in AutoNation by 260.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 333,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,064,000 after purchasing an additional 241,265 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AutoNation by 51.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 631,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,439,000 after purchasing an additional 215,577 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in AutoNation by 444.2% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 119,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,605,000 after purchasing an additional 97,268 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AutoNation Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE AN opened at $215.40 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.98, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.71. AutoNation has a one year low of $176.62 and a one year high of $235.81. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $196.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $198.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.20.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.48 by $0.08. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 31.24%. The company had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that AutoNation will post 21.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation Company Profile

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.