Greenland Capital Management LP Sells 28,854 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Greenland Capital Management LP decreased its holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 66.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,644 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,854 shares during the quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $3,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,176,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $694,950,000 after buying an additional 34,153 shares during the period. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 7.5% during the second quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 1,214,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,262,000 after acquiring an additional 84,455 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 20.6% during 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 during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 51.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 631,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,439,000 after acquiring an additional 215,577 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 0.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 455,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,535,000 after acquiring an additional 1,442 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoNation Stock Performance

NYSE:AN opened at $196.49 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. AutoNation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $148.33 and a twelve month high of $228.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $209.63 and a 200-day moving average of $211.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 0.88.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $5.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.91 by $0.17. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 31.69%. The business had revenue of $6.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.97 earnings per share. AutoNation’s revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current year.

AutoNation declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on AN shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of AutoNation from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of AutoNation from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.11.

AutoNation Company 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.