AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) posted its earnings results on Friday. The company reported $4.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.04, RTT News reports. AutoNation had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 48.76%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.05 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

AutoNation Trading Up 5.9 %

Shares of AN stock traded up $9.50 on Friday, hitting $169.88. 1,532,500 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 461,419. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. AutoNation has a one year low of $123.81 and a one year high of $182.08. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of AutoNation from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of AutoNation in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of AutoNation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.00.

Insider Activity at AutoNation

In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total value of $16,126,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,167,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $672,013,960.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total value of $16,126,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 4,167,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $672,013,960.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 10,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.56, for a total transaction of $1,669,866.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,267,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,640,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 121,279 shares of company stock valued at $19,361,962. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

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.