Bfsg LLC Buys New Shares in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Bfsg LLC bought a new position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 1,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $172,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 31.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 754,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,300,000 after purchasing an additional 181,942 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in AutoNation by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 342,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,491,000 after acquiring an additional 109,571 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in AutoNation by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 262,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,487,000 after acquiring an additional 5,930 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in AutoNation by 137.5% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 167,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,311,000 after buying an additional 96,797 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in AutoNation by 35.0% in the third quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 133,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,212,000 after buying an additional 34,600 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AN. Bank of America reduced their price target on AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded AutoNation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com downgraded AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.00.

AutoNation Price Performance

AN traded down $1.98 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $157.54. 113,161 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 439,187. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.94, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.24. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.81 and a 52-week high of $182.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.53.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $5.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.17. AutoNation had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 48.76%. The business had revenue of $6.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.67 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at AutoNation

In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total transaction of $16,126,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,167,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,013,960.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 10,804 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.56, for a total value of $1,669,866.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,267,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,640,441.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total value of $16,126,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 4,167,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,013,960.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 121,279 shares of company stock valued at $19,361,962 in the last ninety days. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.