Auto Trader Group (AUTO) Share Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Auto Trader Group plc operates in the digital automotive marketplace in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company provides vehicle advertisement on its websites for private sellers, as well as insurance and loan financing products to consumers; and display advertising on its websites for manufacturers and their advertising agencies. The company offers its products to retailers, home traders, and logistics firms. Auto Trader Group plc was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Manchester, the United Kingdom.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: 800 to 808.20
• 50-Day Range: 777.60 to 892.80
• 52-Week Range: 666 to 899
• Volume: 2.14 million shs
• Average Volume: 3.36 million shs
• Market Capitalization: £7.17 billion
• P/E Ratio: 2,867.14
• Dividend Yield: 1.25%
• Price Target: GBX 837
• Consensus Rating: Reduce

Auto Trader Group Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Auto Trader Group scored higher than 7% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 0.9 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Reduce

Consensus Rating

Auto Trader Group has received a consensus rating of Reduce. The company's average rating score is 1.75, and is based on 1 buy rating, 1 hold rating, and 2 sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Auto Trader Group has only been the subject of 3 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 0.0 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: N/A

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Auto Trader Group is 2,867.14, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 134.65.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Auto Trader Group is 2,867.14, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Communication Services sector average P/E ratio of about 319.41.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Auto Trader Group has a PEG Ratio of 3.99. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Auto Trader Group has a P/B Ratio of 13.14. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: N/A
• Short Interest Level: N/A

Short Interest

There is no current short interest data available for AUTO.

Dividend

• Score: 0.8 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Weak

Dividend Yield

Auto Trader Group pays a meaningful dividend of 1.10%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Auto Trader Group does not have a long track record of dividend growth.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Auto Trader Group is 3,571.43%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 1.8 / 5
• Environmental Score: -2.90

Short Interest

There is no current short interest data available for AUTO.

News and Social Media

• Score: 1.3 / 5
• News Sentiment: N/A

News Sentiment

Auto Trader Group has a news sentiment score of 0.34. 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 lower news sentiment than the 0.44 average news sentiment score of Communication Services companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 1 news article for Auto Trader Group this week, compared to 2 articles on an average week.

Company Ownership

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

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

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

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 1.04% of the stock of Auto Trader Group is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

69.06% of the stock of Auto Trader Group is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

AUTO Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have AUTO shares performed this year?

Auto Trader Group's stock was trading at GBX 721.40 at the start of the year. Since then, AUTO stock has increased by 11.1% and is now trading at GBX 801.80.
View the best growth stocks for 2024 here.

How do I buy shares of Auto Trader Group?

Shares of AUTO stock and other U.K. stocks can be purchased through online brokerage accounts that support trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSX). Some U.K. companies can be purchased through major U.S. brokerages in the form of American Depository Receipts (ADRs), which are placeholder equities held in a trust by a bank that represent shares of a foreign stock.
Compare Top Brokerages Here.

What other stocks do shareholders of Auto Trader Group own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Auto Trader Group investors own include Associated British Foods (ABF), Bank of America (BAC), HSBC (HSBA), Tesla (TSLA), AMC Entertainment (AMC), Intelsat (I) and Intel (INTC).

Company Calendar

• Ex-Dividend for 9/27 Dividend: 8/29/2024
• Dividend Payable: 9/27/2024
• Today: 12/18/2024
• Ex-Dividend for 1/24 Dividend: 1/02/2025
• Dividend Payable: 1/24/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: LON
• Sector: Communication Services
• Industry: Internet Content & Information
• Sub-Industry: N/A
• Current Symbol: LON:AUTO
• CUSIP: N/A
• CIK: N/A
• Web: about-us.autotrader.co.uk
• Phone: +44-161-6699888
• Fax: N/A
• Employees: 1,066
• Year Founded: N/A

Price Target and Rating

• Average Stock Price Target: GBX 837
• High Stock Price Target: GBX 935
• Low Stock Price Target: GBX 746
• Potential Upside/Downside: +4.1%
• Consensus Rating: Reduce
• Rating Score (0-4): 1.75
• Research Coverage: 4 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Most Recent Fiscal Year): GBX 0.28
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 2,872.86
• Forward P/E Ratio: 24.53
• P/E Growth: 3.99
• Net Income: £256.90 million
• Net Margins: 45.00%
• Pretax Margin: N/A
• Return on Equity: 47.59%
• Return on Assets: 33.79%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 6.26
• Current Ratio: 1.66
• Quick Ratio: 1.50

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: £570.90 million
• Price / Sales: 12.60
• Cash Flow: GBX 2.73 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 294.95
• Book Value: GBX 61 per share
• Price / Book: 13.19

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 894,540,000
• Free Float: N/A
• Market Cap: £7.20 billion
• Optionable: Not Optionable
• Beta: 0.78