8,798 Shares in AutoNation, Inc. $AN Bought by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,635,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of AutoNation in the third quarter worth about $48,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 37.4% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in AutoNation by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in AutoNation by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 306 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Monetary Solutions Ltd purchased a new position in shares of AutoNation in the fourth quarter valued at $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoNation

In other news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $198,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,757,580. This represents a 10.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of AN opened at $200.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.28, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.18. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $176.62 and a 1-year high of $235.81. The company has a 50-day moving average of $201.30 and a 200 day moving average of $197.40.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.48 by $0.08. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 31.24%. The business had revenue of $6.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Northcoast Research raised shares of AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded AutoNation from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Stephens raised their price target on AutoNation from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AutoNation from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoNation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.00.

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.