Crestline Management LP Makes New Investment in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Crestline Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 34,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,843,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in AutoNation by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 327,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,566,000 after buying an additional 6,277 shares in the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of AutoNation in the 4th quarter valued at about $255,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in AutoNation in the fourth quarter worth about $13,239,000. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. increased its stake in AutoNation by 97.4% during the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 11,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,977,000 after acquiring an additional 5,742 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:AN opened at $176.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.11. AutoNation, Inc. has a one year low of $148.33 and a one year high of $198.50. The firm has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.74.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by $0.33. AutoNation had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.59%. The company had revenue of $6.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.49 earnings per share. AutoNation’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AN shares. Guggenheim dropped their target price on AutoNation from $212.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Cfra Research upgraded shares of AutoNation to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup upgraded shares of AutoNation to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on AutoNation from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoNation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.75.

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.