Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Stock Price

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) had its target price lowered by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $194.00 to $176.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 4.12% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on AN. Stephens boosted their price target on AutoNation from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.43.

AutoNation Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE AN opened at $169.03 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.98, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $172.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.74. AutoNation has a 52 week low of $148.33 and a 52 week high of $198.50.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $4.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 predict that AutoNation will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoNation

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AN. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in AutoNation by 51.2% in the 1st quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 770 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Crumly & Associates Inc. now owns 1,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC increased its stake in AutoNation by 4.7% in the first quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 26,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,267,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in AutoNation by 2.7% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $626,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.