AutoNation, Inc. $AN Stock: Investment House LLC Lowers Stake

Investment House LLC reduced its position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,410 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,270 shares during the period. Investment House LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $3,686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 1.1% during the first quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 5,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 9,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 33.0% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 73.9% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in AutoNation by 14.3% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 744 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AN shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of AutoNation from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Zacks Research downgraded AutoNation from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. UBS Group lowered their target price on AutoNation from $248.00 to $213.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Stephens increased 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. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on AutoNation from $260.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $230.00.

AutoNation Price Performance

NYSE AN opened at $161.73 on Friday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $151.82 and a 52 week 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 market cap of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $181.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $192.23.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.24% and a net margin of 2.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 7,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,757,580. This trade represents a 10.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About AutoNation

AutoNation, Inc is a U.S.-based automotive retailer that sells new and used vehicles through a network of dealerships and online sales channels. The company represents a range of domestic, import and luxury automotive brands, offering passenger cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles.

In addition to vehicle sales, AutoNation provides automotive maintenance and repair, parts, collision-repair services, vehicle protection products and financing options. Its retail operations include traditional dealerships as well as AutoNation USA locations, which focus primarily on used vehicles and related services.

Founded in 1996 as Republic Industries, the company adopted the AutoNation name as it developed its automotive retail business.