AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Declares Share Buyback Plan

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, April 26th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 14.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

AutoNation Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of AN opened at $161.13 on Wednesday. AutoNation has a 12-month low of $123.81 and a 12-month high of $182.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $155.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.30.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $4.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.49 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 43.48% and a net margin of 3.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.05 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoNation will post 18.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on AN. Bank of America lowered their target price on AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com cut AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AutoNation from $153.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Guggenheim lifted their price target on AutoNation from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded AutoNation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $175.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total transaction of $16,126,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,167,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,013,960.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total transaction of $16,126,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,167,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,013,960.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Kimberly Dees sold 3,133 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.28, for a total value of $477,093.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 464 shares in the company, valued at $70,657.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 121,279 shares of company stock worth $19,361,962. Company 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.