HCR Wealth Advisors Sells 224 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

HCR Wealth Advisors trimmed its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,618 shares of the company’s stock after selling 224 shares during the quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors owned about 0.06% of AutoNation worth $3,986,000 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 stock. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC raised its position in AutoNation by 50.3% in the fourth quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 1,461,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,172,000 after purchasing an additional 488,904 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in AutoNation by 422.7% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 575,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,658,000 after buying an additional 465,000 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its position in AutoNation by 63.0% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,104,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,662,000 after buying an additional 426,882 shares during the period. Cartenna Capital LP bought a new stake in AutoNation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,831,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in AutoNation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,136,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on AutoNation from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup upgraded shares of AutoNation to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $194.00 to $176.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Cfra Research upgraded shares of AutoNation to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of AutoNation from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AutoNation currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $205.75.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of AN stock opened at $192.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.77. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.33 and a fifty-two week high of $198.50. The firm has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $180.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.43.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by $0.33. AutoNation had a return on equity of 30.08% and a net margin of 2.51%. The firm had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.49 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current 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.