National Bankshares Upgrades AutoCanada (TSE:ACQ) to Outperform

AutoCanada (TSE:ACQ) was upgraded by stock analysts at National Bankshares from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report issued on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage presently has a C$21.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of C$17.00. National Bankshares’ price target indicates a potential upside of 11.11% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. CIBC reduced their price objective on shares of AutoCanada from C$18.00 to C$15.50 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of AutoCanada from C$18.00 to C$15.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on AutoCanada from C$21.00 to C$19.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Acumen Capital lowered their price target on AutoCanada from C$21.50 to C$19.75 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on AutoCanada from C$21.00 to C$18.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$19.50.

AutoCanada Stock Performance

Shares of ACQ stock traded up C$3.78 on Thursday, hitting C$18.90. 158,670 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 47,590. AutoCanada has a 1-year low of C$13.75 and a 1-year high of C$27.44. The company’s fifty day moving average is C$15.37 and its 200 day moving average is C$17.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 444.38, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of C$438.29 million, a PE ratio of -12.10, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 2.54.

AutoCanada (TSE:ACQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported C($0.96) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$0.34 by C($1.30). AutoCanada had a negative net margin of 0.59% and a negative return on equity of 6.62%. The firm had revenue of C$1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$1.62 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that AutoCanada will post 2.4311927 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoCanada news, insider EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. bought 11,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of C$14.33 per share, for a total transaction of C$163,349.46. Insiders have bought 119,500 shares of company stock worth $1,779,856 in the last quarter. 4.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About AutoCanada

AutoCanada Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates franchised automobile dealerships and related business. The company offers a range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles, vehicle leasing, vehicle parts, vehicle maintenance and collision repair services, and extended service contracts; and vehicle protection, after-market products, and auction services.