Lazard Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 122.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,133 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,788 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $2,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AN. Barclays PLC increased its stake in AutoNation by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,870,000 after buying an additional 2,263 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new position in shares of AutoNation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $207,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,239,000. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Finally, Perpetual Ltd lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 3,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,885 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AN. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on AutoNation from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of AutoNation from $194.00 to $176.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Cfra Research raised shares of AutoNation to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of AutoNation from $212.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.75.

AutoNation Price Performance

NYSE AN opened at $190.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.00. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $148.33 and a 52 week high of $198.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $169.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.52.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by $0.33. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.49 EPS. AutoNation’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoNation Company Profile

AutoNation, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Domestic, Import, and Premium Luxury. It offers a range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles; and parts and services, such as automotive repair and maintenance, and wholesale parts and collision services.