Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey Acquires 910 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 9.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,266 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 910 shares during the quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $2,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoNation by 144.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 416,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,950,000 after acquiring an additional 245,994 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 1st quarter valued at $36,060,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,256,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $527,261,000 after purchasing an additional 219,474 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in AutoNation by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,964,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,749,000 after purchasing an additional 149,959 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in AutoNation during the 1st quarter valued at about $10,865,000. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AN shares. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of AutoNation from $230.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of AutoNation from $255.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AutoNation in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on AutoNation from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.44.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AN opened at $199.61 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $209.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $203.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.74, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.87. AutoNation, Inc. has a one year low of $148.33 and a one year high of $228.92.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $5.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.85 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.74 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.38% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.02 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, October 31st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About AutoNation

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.