California State Teachers Retirement System Purchases 5,358 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. $AN

California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 20.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 31,948 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,358 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $6,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of AutoNation by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 57,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,825,000 after acquiring an additional 12,210 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 4th quarter valued at $6,443,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 180.1% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 13,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,727,000 after buying an additional 8,491 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in shares of AutoNation in the 4th quarter worth about $2,247,000. Finally, Evolve Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in AutoNation during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,077,000. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Price Performance

AutoNation stock opened at $215.68 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.99, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.71. AutoNation, Inc. has a one year low of $176.62 and a one year high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $197.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $198.44.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.48 by $0.08. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.24% and a net margin of 2.82%.The business had revenue of $6.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.59 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AN shares. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $248.00 target price on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Monday. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $255.00 price target on shares of AutoNation in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on AutoNation from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on AutoNation from $202.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $247.45.

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.