LSV Asset Management Decreases Stock Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

LSV Asset Management reduced its position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 537,225 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,370 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $117,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AutoNation during the second quarter valued at $62,613,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 219.6% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 316,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,957,000 after buying an additional 217,774 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 51.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 631,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,439,000 after buying an additional 215,577 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in shares of AutoNation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,601,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in AutoNation by 20.6% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 815,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,085,000 after acquiring an additional 139,363 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AN shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on AutoNation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Stephens increased their price target on AutoNation from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on AutoNation from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of AutoNation from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoNation currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.11.

AutoNation Price Performance

AN opened at $206.63 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $211.58 and a 200 day moving average of $210.38. The stock has a market cap of $7.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.33 and a 52-week high of $228.92.

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

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

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.