Kentucky Retirement Systems Invests $1.04 Million in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Kentucky Retirement Systems acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 5,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,041,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in AutoNation by 8.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,070,000 after buying an additional 1,551 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in AutoNation during the first quarter valued at approximately $265,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoNation by 10.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 98,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,967,000 after acquiring an additional 9,656 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of AutoNation by 17.3% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of AutoNation by 37.4% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoNation News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting AutoNation this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted second-quarter EPS rose to $5.56, exceeding the roughly $5.43–$5.48 analyst consensus. Net income increased 111% year over year to $182.1 million, helped by improved profitability. Revenue Miss, EV Sales Slump Send AutoNation Stock Lower
• Positive Sentiment: After-sales produced a record gross profit, customer-pay revenue grew 7%, and Customer Financial Services gross profit per unit increased 3%, demonstrating resilience in AutoNation’s higher-margin operations. The company also repurchased $457 million of stock during the first half and acquired four dealerships representing approximately $600 million in annual revenue. AutoNation Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management expects adjusted EPS growth in the second half and is targeting SG&A at 66% to 67% of gross profit by year-end, signaling a focus on operating leverage and expense discipline. AutoNation outlines SG&A target and second-half EPS growth
• Neutral Sentiment: AutoNation’s luxury-vehicle strategy is accelerating. While this could improve margins and mix over time, it also increases investor attention on demand trends in a more cyclical and potentially softer market. AutoNation beats on profit but misses revenue as luxury pivot accelerates
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue declined approximately 1% year over year to $6.93 billion, below the roughly $7 billion consensus. Lower new-vehicle sales and a slump in electric-vehicle sales reinforced concerns about softer dealership demand and ongoing macroeconomic pressure. AutoNation Revenue Falls on Lower New-Vehicle Sales

Insider Activity at AutoNation

In related news, CAO Kimberly Dees sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.91, for a total transaction of $512,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,456 shares in the company, valued at $298,348.96. This represents a 63.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AN. Northcoast Research raised shares of AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of AutoNation from $208.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AutoNation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of AutoNation from $269.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $246.18.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of AutoNation stock opened at $213.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.20. AutoNation, Inc. has a one year low of $176.62 and a one year high of $235.81. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $198.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.75.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.48 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 2.47%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.41 EPS for the current year.

AutoNation Profile

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.