2,507 Shares in AutoNation, Inc. $AN Purchased by Syon Capital LLC

Syon Capital LLC acquired a new stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 2,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $548,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of AutoNation by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,176,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $694,950,000 after acquiring an additional 34,153 shares during the last quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 1,214,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,262,000 after purchasing an additional 84,455 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in AutoNation by 20.6% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 815,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,085,000 after purchasing an additional 139,363 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AutoNation by 51.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 631,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,439,000 after purchasing an additional 215,577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in AutoNation by 0.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 455,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,535,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore raised their price target on AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Citigroup lifted their target price on AutoNation from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of AutoNation from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoNation currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.11.

AutoNation Price Performance

AN stock opened at $201.15 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $209.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $210.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 0.88. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.33 and a 1 year high of $228.92.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $5.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.91 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.21 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 31.69%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.97 EPS. Analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, October 31st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About AutoNation

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.