AutoNation, Inc. $AN Stock Holdings Decreased by Mountain Lake Investment Management LLC

Mountain Lake Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 48,684 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,774 shares during the quarter. AutoNation makes up approximately 7.9% of Mountain Lake Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Mountain Lake Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $10,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AN. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new stake in AutoNation during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoNation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 355.3% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 2,477.8% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AN opened at $182.92 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $204.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $209.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a PE ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 0.89. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.33 and a fifty-two week high of $228.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.84.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $5.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.91 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.69% and a net margin of 2.35%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AutoNation from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $233.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.67.

About AutoNation

AutoNation, Inc is the largest automotive retailer in the United States, operating a network of franchised new vehicle dealerships, pre-owned vehicle superstores and collision-repair centers. The company offers a comprehensive range of automotive products and services, including the sale of new cars and light trucks from leading manufacturers, certified pre-owned vehicles and a wide selection of used models. In addition to retail vehicle sales, AutoNation provides financing, insurance and extended service contracts through its in-house financial services division, as well as genuine and aftermarket parts, factory-recommended maintenance and collision-repair services.

Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, AutoNation was founded in 1996 by entrepreneur H.