AutoNation, Inc. $AN Shares Sold by Denali Advisors LLC

Denali Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 14.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,250 shares of the company’s stock after selling 203 shares during the quarter. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AN. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 144.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 416,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,950,000 after acquiring an additional 245,994 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,060,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in AutoNation by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,256,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $527,261,000 after purchasing an additional 219,474 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in AutoNation by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,964,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,749,000 after purchasing an additional 149,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in AutoNation by 476.2% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 84,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,881,000 after purchasing an additional 69,897 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of NYSE:AN opened at $208.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.33 and a 52-week high of $228.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $218.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $199.13. The company has a market capitalization of $7.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.85.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $5.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.85 by $0.16. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 31.12%. The company had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.02 earnings per share. AutoNation’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $230.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $221.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $255.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of AutoNation from $205.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.63.

About AutoNation

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.