Retirement Systems of Alabama Cuts Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,316 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,254 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.08% of AutoNation worth $4,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 2.2% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $673,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 212.2% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 743 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Investment House LLC boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 11.7% during the second quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 55,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,834,000 after buying an additional 5,810 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in AutoNation by 10.7% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 58,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,257,000 after buying an additional 5,611 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,903,000. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoNation

In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 53,562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.45, for a total transaction of $10,361,568.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,825,838 shares in the company, valued at $740,108,361.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total transaction of $4,083,789.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,980,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $685,794,659.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 53,562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.45, for a total transaction of $10,361,568.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,825,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $740,108,361.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 177,265 shares of company stock worth $32,066,359 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Trading Up 1.1 %

AN opened at $182.36 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $169.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $162.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.34 billion, a PE ratio of 8.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.21. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.81 and a 12-month high of $197.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.31 by ($0.32). The firm had revenue of $6.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.72 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 36.50% and a net margin of 2.93%. AutoNation’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 17.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Bank of America increased their target price on AutoNation from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $164.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on AutoNation from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.71.

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.