Bfsg LLC Takes Position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $172,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AN. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in AutoNation by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 754,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,300,000 after buying an additional 181,942 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 47.0% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 342,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,491,000 after purchasing an additional 109,571 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 137.5% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 167,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,311,000 after acquiring an additional 96,797 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoNation in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,247,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 129.0% in the 3rd quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 104,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,815,000 after acquiring an additional 58,850 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AutoNation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of AutoNation from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoNation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.00.

AutoNation Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AN traded down $1.98 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $157.54. The stock had a trading volume of 113,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 439,187. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.81 and a 1 year high of $182.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $153.43 and its 200-day moving average is $144.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.24.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $5.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.17. AutoNation had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 48.76%. The firm had revenue of $6.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.37 EPS. AutoNation’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total transaction of $16,126,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,167,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $672,013,960.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total value of $16,126,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,167,270 shares in the company, valued at $672,013,960.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 10,804 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.56, for a total transaction of $1,669,866.24. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,267,860 shares in the company, valued at $659,640,441.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 121,279 shares of company stock valued at $19,361,962. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Profile

AutoNation, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Domestic, Import, and Premium Luxury. It offers a range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles; and parts and services, such as automotive repair and maintenance, and wholesale parts and collision services.