Stephens Inc. AR Has $2.20 Million Stake in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Stephens Inc. AR trimmed its position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 4.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,073 shares of the company’s stock after selling 525 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $2,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 144.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 416,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,950,000 after purchasing an additional 245,994 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation in the first quarter valued at $36,060,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 7.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,256,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $527,261,000 after purchasing an additional 219,474 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 8.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,964,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,749,000 after purchasing an additional 149,959 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 476.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 84,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,881,000 after purchasing an additional 69,897 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AN has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $255.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $205.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AutoNation presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.63.

AutoNation Trading Down 1.3%

AN opened at $215.88 on Thursday. AutoNation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $148.33 and a twelve month high of $228.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $218.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $198.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.85.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $5.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.76. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 31.12%. The business had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.99 earnings per share. AutoNation’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal 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.