Focus Partners Wealth Acquires Shares of 2,961 AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $503,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in AutoNation by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 327,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,566,000 after purchasing an additional 6,277 shares in the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $255,000. Foster & Motley Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 97.4% in the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 11,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,977,000 after purchasing an additional 5,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,136,000. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised AutoNation to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on AutoNation from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on AutoNation from $212.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com raised AutoNation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of AutoNation to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoNation currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.75.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AN opened at $187.17 on Wednesday. AutoNation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $148.33 and a twelve month high of $198.50. The firm has a market cap of $7.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.05, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $171.06 and a 200 day moving average of $174.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $6.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.53 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect 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.