AutoNation (AN) closed at $116.79 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.72% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.16%. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.42%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.48%.

Coming into today, shares of the auto retailer had lost 6.49% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector lost 4.37%, while the S&P 500 lost 6.79%.

Investors will be hoping for strength from AutoNation as it approaches its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect AutoNation to post earnings of $5.95 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 23.19%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $6.87 billion, down 1.59% from the prior-year quarter.

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.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for AutoNation. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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 ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. AutoNation currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Investors should also note AutoNation's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 4.95. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 5.85, which means AutoNation is trading at a discount to the group.

Investors should also note that AN has a PEG ratio of 0.2 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. AN's industry had an average PEG ratio of 0.41 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 5, putting it in the top 2% 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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