AutoNation (AN) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know
AutoNation (AN) closed the most recent trading day at $120.80, moving -0.07% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.84%. At the same time, the Dow added 1.33%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.53%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the auto retailer had lost 4.17% over the past month. This has was narrower than the Retail-Wholesale sector's loss of 5.5% and lagged the S&P 500's loss of 0.5% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from AutoNation as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $5.95, up 23.19% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $6.87 billion, down 1.59% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $23.20 per share and revenue of $27.58 billion. These totals would mark changes of +27.89% and +6.71%, respectively, from last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for AutoNation should also be noted by investors. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 4.28% higher. AutoNation is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Looking at its valuation, AutoNation is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 5.21. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 6.27, which means AutoNation is trading at a discount to the group.
Also, we should mention that AN has a PEG ratio of 0.21. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Automotive - Retail and Whole Sales industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 0.43 as of yesterday's close.
The Automotive - Retail and Whole Sales industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 33, putting it in the top 14% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
To follow AN in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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