Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Acquires 12,210 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 27.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 57,269 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,210 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $11,825,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 355.3% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 37.4% in 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 during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 126.1% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

AutoNation Stock Up 5.0%

AutoNation stock opened at $195.10 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $196.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $202.03. 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 market cap of $6.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.74. 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.71 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $6.55 billion for 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.68 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on AutoNation in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $234.00 price target for the company. Stephens boosted their price target on AutoNation from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Bank of America assumed coverage on AutoNation in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded AutoNation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on AutoNation from $269.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.90.

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.