Brighton Jones LLC Invests $376,000 in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AN. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoNation by 81.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 104.2% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $952,000 after acquiring an additional 3,001 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in AutoNation by 9.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in AutoNation by 476.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AN shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on 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. increased their price target on AutoNation from $205.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of AutoNation from $230.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of AutoNation from $255.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.50.

AutoNation Trading Down 0.2%

AN stock opened at $196.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.85. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.33 and a 12 month high of $228.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $217.41 and its 200 day moving average is $200.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.20.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $5.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.74 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.38% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.02 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS 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.