Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 6,286 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,813 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,286 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.17% of AutoNation worth $13,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new stake in AutoNation in the third quarter worth $31,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoNation during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 37.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 2,477.8% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new stake in AutoNation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,000. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AutoNation Price Performance

AN opened at $206.73 on Wednesday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.33 and a 1 year high of $228.92. 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 company has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $211.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $210.42.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $5.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.91 by $0.17. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 31.30%. The company had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, October 31st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on AutoNation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $244.56.

AutoNation Profile

AutoNation, Inc is the largest automotive retailer in the United States, operating a network of franchised new vehicle dealerships, pre-owned vehicle superstores and collision-repair centers. The company offers a comprehensive range of automotive products and services, including the sale of new cars and light trucks from leading manufacturers, certified pre-owned vehicles and a wide selection of used models. In addition to retail vehicle sales, AutoNation provides financing, insurance and extended service contracts through its in-house financial services division, as well as genuine and aftermarket parts, factory-recommended maintenance and collision-repair services.

Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, AutoNation was founded in 1996 by entrepreneur H.