AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) was the target of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,680,000 shares, a growth of 5.1% from the September 15th total of 2,550,000 shares. Approximately 9.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 374,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of AutoNation from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AutoNation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.06, for a total value of $91,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,825,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $696,441,036.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 500 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.06, for a total transaction of $91,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,825,338 shares in the company, valued at $696,441,036.28. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 53,562 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.45, for a total transaction of $10,361,568.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,825,838 shares in the company, valued at $740,108,361.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 93,256 shares of company stock worth $17,641,954. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AutoNation

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in AutoNation by 54.1% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 51,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,568,000 after purchasing an additional 18,157 shares during the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AutoNation in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,484,000. Sanders Morris Harris LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 1st quarter worth about $828,000. Diversified Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 2nd quarter worth about $838,000. Finally, BOKF NA raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 39.1% during the 1st quarter. BOKF NA now owns 53,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,808,000 after buying an additional 15,015 shares in the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AutoNation Stock Performance

Shares of AutoNation stock traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $169.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 106,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 414,623. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $171.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.78. AutoNation has a one year low of $123.81 and a one year high of $197.18. The stock has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.19.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by ($0.32). AutoNation had a return on equity of 36.50% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $6.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that AutoNation will post 17.64 EPS 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.