South Dakota Investment Council Has $12.41 Million Stock Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

South Dakota Investment Council lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 73,094 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,932 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $12,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in AutoNation by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $922,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 7,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,240,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after acquiring an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 12,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,858 shares in the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AN. StockNews.com upgraded AutoNation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Stephens increased their target price on AutoNation from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on AutoNation from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on AutoNation from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.71.

AutoNation Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of AN opened at $181.19 on Friday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $136.79 and a 1 year high of $198.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $181.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.04. The stock has a market cap of $7.08 billion, a PE ratio of 10.70, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.25.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $4.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.71. AutoNation had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.59%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal 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.