AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Earns “Buy” Rating from Guggenheim

AutoNation (NYSE:AN)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by stock analysts at Guggenheim in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Stephens raised their price objective on AutoNation from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on AutoNation from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on AutoNation from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.71.

AutoNation Price Performance

AutoNation stock opened at $192.46 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. The company has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a PE ratio of 11.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.25. AutoNation has a 12 month low of $136.35 and a 12 month high of $198.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $179.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.37.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $4.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.26 by $0.71. AutoNation had a return on equity of 32.01% and a net margin of 2.74%. Analysts expect that AutoNation will post 16.74 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoNation

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AN. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 142.2% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 73,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,138,000 after buying an additional 43,113 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoNation during the third quarter valued at approximately $585,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 33.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 6.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 320,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,413,000 after buying an additional 19,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AutoNation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% 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.