Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Cuts Stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division reduced its stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 10.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $291,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AN. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,870,000 after buying an additional 2,263 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 38.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 10,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $942,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Custom Index Systems LLC lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC now owns 2,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $461,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $212.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cfra Research raised shares of AutoNation to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AutoNation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.75.

AutoNation Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of AN opened at $183.92 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $173.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.94. AutoNation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $148.33 and a twelve month high of $198.50. The stock has a market cap of $6.93 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.35 by $0.33. AutoNation had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.59%. The firm 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 business posted $4.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation 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.