Stephens Inc. AR Sells 18,854 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Stephens Inc. AR decreased its position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 35.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 34,697 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,854 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $6,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its stake in AutoNation by 1.6% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 6,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,051,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in AutoNation by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 23,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,843,000 after acquiring an additional 5,055 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in AutoNation by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 32,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,393,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in AutoNation by 43.9% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC boosted its stake in AutoNation by 15.7% in the first quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 12,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Price Performance

AN opened at $156.25 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $168.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 9.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.21. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.32 and a 52 week high of $197.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.80.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by ($0.32). The company had revenue of $6.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.72 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 32.01% and a net margin of 2.74%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 17.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.06, for a total value of $91,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,825,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $696,441,036.28. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.06, for a total value of $91,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,825,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $696,441,036.28. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 39,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.43, for a total value of $7,189,355.42. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,786,144 shares in the company, valued at $694,492,393.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AN shares. Stephens assumed coverage on AutoNation in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of AutoNation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $145.00 to $200.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.43.

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.