AutoNation (NYSE:AN) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.32 EPS

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.31 by ($0.32), Briefing.com reports. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 36.28%. The company had revenue of $6.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.72 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.29 earnings per share. AutoNation’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis.

AutoNation Trading Down 7.2 %

NYSE AN traded down $13.21 on Friday, reaching $170.74. 672,440 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 439,837. AutoNation has a fifty-two week low of $123.81 and a fifty-two week high of $197.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $168.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $158.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on AutoNation from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Bank of America raised their price objective on AutoNation from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $164.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on AutoNation from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.00.

AutoNation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, April 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 14.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total value of $4,083,789.87. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,980,467 shares in the company, valued at $685,794,659.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total value of $4,083,789.87. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,980,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $685,794,659.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 53,562 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.45, for a total transaction of $10,361,568.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,825,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $740,108,361.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 177,265 shares of company stock valued at $32,066,359. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by 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.