Norges Bank Purchases New Shares in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 335,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,319,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in AutoNation by 355.3% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in AutoNation by 37.4% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in AutoNation during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in AutoNation during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in AutoNation by 126.1% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 251 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Price Performance

AN opened at $188.14 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.19, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $196.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $202.09. AutoNation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $176.62 and a twelve month high of $228.92.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $4.69 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.71 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.65 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 2.47%.AutoNation’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.68 EPS. Equities analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoNation

In other news, CAO Kimberly Dees sold 2,500 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.91, for a total value of $512,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,456 shares in the company, valued at $298,348.96. This trade represents a 63.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AN shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $269.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of AutoNation in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $234.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of AutoNation in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $246.90.

About AutoNation

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.