Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires New Position in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 18,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,483,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AN. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in AutoNation by 192,434.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,424,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $913,557,000 after purchasing an additional 4,422,133 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 2nd quarter valued at about $438,689,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,319,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 260.2% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 333,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,064,000 after buying an additional 241,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AutoNation by 51.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 631,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,439,000 after buying an additional 215,577 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoNation Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of AN opened at $200.35 on Friday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $176.62 and a 1 year high of $235.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.40. The stock has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a PE ratio of 9.28, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.71.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.48 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.24% and a net margin of 2.82%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of AutoNation from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AutoNation from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Northcoast Research raised shares of AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $248.00 target price on shares of AutoNation in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on AutoNation from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoNation currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $250.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $198,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,989 shares in the company, valued at $1,757,580. The trade was a 10.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.