AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Trading Down 5.2% After Analyst Downgrade

AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)’s stock price fell 5.2% on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $195.00 to $175.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. AutoNation traded as low as $161.68 and last traded at $161.77. 218,659 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 436,250 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.72.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on AN. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded AutoNation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Stephens boosted their price objective on AutoNation from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on AutoNation from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.86.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoNation

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,814,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,312,000 after acquiring an additional 203,335 shares in the last quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC raised its stake in AutoNation by 50.3% in the fourth quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 1,461,213 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,172,000 after buying an additional 488,904 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 63.0% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,104,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,662,000 after buying an additional 426,882 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in AutoNation by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 854,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,804,000 after acquiring an additional 19,037 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 851,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,682,000 after acquiring an additional 160,794 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Trading Down 4.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $180.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.65.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $4.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.71. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 30.48%. On average, research analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.