Engineers Gate Manager LP Purchases 14,134 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 56.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,379 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,134 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $7,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 17,067.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,484,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,018,969,000 after acquiring an additional 5,452,573 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 192,434.0% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,424,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $913,557,000 after acquiring an additional 4,422,133 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 2nd quarter valued at $438,689,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,478,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,784,000 after purchasing an additional 56,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 907,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,460,000 after purchasing an additional 91,232 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on AutoNation from $202.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Stephens upped 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on AutoNation from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $248.00 price objective on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on AutoNation from $241.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Ten 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.

AutoNation Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of AutoNation stock opened at $203.43 on Friday. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $176.62 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a fifty day moving average of $204.93 and a 200 day moving average of $197.60.

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

Insider Transactions at AutoNation

In related news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $198,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,757,580. This trade represents a 10.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

About AutoNation

AutoNation, Inc is a leading automotive retailer in the United States. The company sells new and used vehicles through a network of franchised dealerships and provides automotive services including vehicle financing, insurance products, maintenance, repair, parts, and collision-repair services.

In addition to its manufacturer-branded dealerships, AutoNation operates AutoNation USA locations focused primarily on used vehicles and offers digital tools that allow customers to research, purchase, finance, and service vehicles online.