AutoNation (AN) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

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. The company also provides automotive finance and insurance products comprising vehicle services and other protection products; and indirect financing for vehicles, as well as arranges finance for vehicle purchases through third-party finance sources. It owns and operates new vehicle franchises from stores located primarily in metropolitan markets in the Sunbelt region, as well as AutoNation-branded collision centers, AutoNation USA used vehicle stores, AutoNation-branded automotive auction operations, and parts distribution centers. The company was formerly known as Republic Industries, Inc. and changed its name to AutoNation, Inc. in 1999. AutoNation, Inc. was incorporated in 1980 and is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $167.29 to $173.18
• 50-Day Range: $155.47 to $182.35
• 52-Week Range: $133.13 to $197.18
• Volume: 863,384 shs
• Average Volume: 438,439 shs
• Market Capitalization: $6.75 billion
• P/E Ratio: 9.81
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Price Target: $199.29
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

AutoNation Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

AutoNation scored higher than 72% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 112th out of 219 stocks in the retail/wholesale sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 3.4 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

AutoNation has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.71, and is based on 5 buy ratings, 2 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

AutoNation has been the subject of 5 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 9.46%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for AutoNation are expected to grow by 9.46% in the coming year, from $16.71 to $18.29 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of AutoNation is 9.81, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 113.35.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of AutoNation is 9.81, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Retail/Wholesale sector average P/E ratio of about 109.00.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

AutoNation has a PEG Ratio of 3.63. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

AutoNation has a P/B Ratio of 3.27. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

7.61% of the float of AutoNation has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

AutoNation has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 4.1.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in AutoNation has recently decreased by 13.16%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 0.0 / 5
• Dividend Strength: N/A

Dividend Yield

AutoNation does not currently pay a dividend.

Dividend Growth

AutoNation does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: N/A
• Environmental Score: N/A

Percentage of Shares Shorted

7.61% of the float of AutoNation has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

AutoNation has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 4.1.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in AutoNation has recently decreased by 13.16%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.9 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.25

News Sentiment

AutoNation has a news sentiment score of 1.25. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.68 average news sentiment score of Retail/Wholesale companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 4 news articles for AutoNation this week, compared to 7 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

Only 2 people have searched for AN on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -83% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

3 people have added AutoNation to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 50% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, AutoNation insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 0.74% of the stock of AutoNation is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

94.62% of the stock of AutoNation is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

AN Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have AN shares performed this year?

AutoNation's stock was trading at $150.18 on January 1st, 2024. Since then, AN shares have increased by 13.3% and is now trading at $170.19.
View the best growth stocks for 2024 here.

How were AutoNation's earnings last quarter?

AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July, 31st. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.31 by $0.32. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Is AutoNation buying back stock?

AutoNation's Board of Directors initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, April 26th 2024, which permits the company to buy back $1,000,000,000 in shares, according to EventVestor. This means that the company could repurchase up to 14.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Who are AutoNation's major shareholders?

Top institutional shareholders of AutoNation include State Street Corp (2.15%), Geode Capital Management LLC (1.09%), Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. (0.81%) and Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC (0.72%). Insiders that own company stock include Edward S Lampert, Robert R Grusky, David B Edelson, Michael Mark Manley, Marc G Cannon, George Lawrence Mikan III, Joseph T Lower, C Coleman Edmunds, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, Jacqueline A Travisano, Kimberly Dees and Christopher Cade.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of AutoNation?

Shares of AN stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.
Compare Top Brokerages Here.

What other stocks do shareholders of AutoNation own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that AutoNation investors own include Ford Motor (F), American Water Works (AWK), Humana (HUM), Waste Connections (WCN), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR) and AUO (AUOTY).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 7/31/2024
• Today: 12/21/2024
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2024

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Retail/Wholesale
• Industry: Automotive dealers & gasoline service stations
• Sub-Industry: Automotive Retail
• Current Symbol: NYSE:AN
• CUSIP: 05329W10
• CIK: 350698
• Web: www.autonation.com
• Phone: (954) 769-6000
• Fax: 302-636-5454
• Employees: 25,300
• Year Founded: N/A

Price Target and Rating

• Average Stock Price Target: $199.29
• High Stock Price Target: $220.00
• Low Stock Price Target: $180.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +17.1%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.71
• Research Coverage: 7 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Most Recent Fiscal Year): $17.34
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 9.81
• Forward P/E Ratio: 10.18
• P/E Growth: 3.63
• Net Income: $1.02 billion
• Net Margins: 2.74%
• Pretax Margin: 3.62%
• Return on Equity: 32.01%
• Return on Assets: 5.87%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 1.58
• Current Ratio: 0.80
• Quick Ratio: 0.20

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $26.32 billion
• Price / Sales: 0.26
• Cash Flow: $29.29 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 5.81
• Book Value: $52.01 per share
• Price / Book: 3.27

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 39,646,000
• Free Float: 39,353,000
• Market Cap: $6.75 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.24