Share Buyback Plan Authorized by AutoNation (NYSE:AN)

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, April 26th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 14.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

AutoNation Price Performance

NYSE:AN opened at $161.13 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.30. AutoNation has a 1 year low of $123.81 and a 1 year high of $182.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.64, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 10,804 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.56, for a total value of $1,669,866.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,267,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,640,441.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 10,804 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.56, for a total value of $1,669,866.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,267,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,640,441.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Kimberly Dees sold 3,133 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was 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 directly owns 464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $70,657.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 121,279 shares of company stock worth $19,361,962. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.