AutoNation, Inc. $AN Shares Bought by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 24.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,701 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,435 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $3,872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AN. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC grew its holdings in AutoNation by 0.3% during the second quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 21,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,239,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 37.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AutoNation from $220.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on AutoNation from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays started coverage on AutoNation in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $244.22.

AutoNation Trading Down 1.7%

AN stock opened at $212.67 on Tuesday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.33 and a 12-month high of $228.92. The business’s 50-day moving average is $206.95 and its 200 day moving average is $209.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. The stock has a market cap of $7.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.88.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $5.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.74 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 2.38%.The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.02 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, October 31st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

AutoNation Company Profile

AutoNation, Inc is the largest automotive retailer in the United States, operating a network of franchised new vehicle dealerships, pre-owned vehicle superstores and collision-repair centers. The company offers a comprehensive range of automotive products and services, including the sale of new cars and light trucks from leading manufacturers, certified pre-owned vehicles and a wide selection of used models. In addition to retail vehicle sales, AutoNation provides financing, insurance and extended service contracts through its in-house financial services division, as well as genuine and aftermarket parts, factory-recommended maintenance and collision-repair services.

Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, AutoNation was founded in 1996 by entrepreneur H.