Retirement Systems of Alabama Has $4.88 Million Position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its holdings in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 32,486 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,064 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $4,879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in AutoNation by 31.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 754,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,300,000 after buying an additional 181,942 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 342,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,491,000 after purchasing an additional 109,571 shares during the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 262,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,487,000 after purchasing an additional 5,930 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 137.5% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 167,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,311,000 after purchasing an additional 96,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 129.0% in the third quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 104,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,815,000 after purchasing an additional 58,850 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Price Performance

AN opened at $165.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.83, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.22. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.81 and a fifty-two week high of $182.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $156.70 and a 200 day moving average of $145.84.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $4.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.04. AutoNation had a net margin of 3.41% and a return on equity of 42.44%. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.05 EPS. AutoNation’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.73 EPS for the current year.

AutoNation declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, April 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 14.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on AN. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AutoNation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $117.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of AutoNation from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of AutoNation from $153.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoNation currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.63.

Insider Transactions at AutoNation

In related news, Director David B. Edelson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $1,680,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 48,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,197,224. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total transaction of $16,126,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,167,270 shares in the company, valued at $672,013,960.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David B. Edelson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $1,680,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 48,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,197,224. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 131,279 shares of company stock valued at $21,041,962 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

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.