AutoCanada (TSE:ACQ) Upgraded by National Bank Financial to Strong-Buy Rating

National Bank Financial upgraded shares of AutoCanada (TSE:ACQ) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on ACQ. National Bankshares raised shares of AutoCanada from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from C$17.00 to C$21.00 in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on AutoCanada from C$19.50 to C$19.00 in a research note on Thursday. ATB Capital reduced their price objective on shares of AutoCanada from C$25.00 to C$20.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of AutoCanada from C$18.00 to C$15.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Acumen Capital reduced their price target on AutoCanada from C$21.50 to C$19.75 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoCanada has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of C$19.44.

AutoCanada Price Performance

AutoCanada stock opened at C$18.90 on Wednesday. AutoCanada has a 12-month low of C$13.75 and a 12-month high of C$27.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 444.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of C$15.56 and a 200-day moving average price of C$17.74. The firm has a market capitalization of C$438.29 million, a PE ratio of -12.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 2.54.

AutoCanada (TSE:ACQ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 13th. The company reported C($0.96) earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of C$1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$1.62 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AutoCanada will post 2.4311927 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. purchased 18,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of C$14.88 per share, with a total value of C$270,901.54. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 119,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,779,856. 4.90% of the stock is 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.