SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases New Stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $756,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in AutoNation by 81.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation in the first quarter valued at approximately $557,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 56.8% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 183.1% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 2,408 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised AutoNation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. Cfra Research upgraded AutoNation to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim cut their price target on AutoNation from $212.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on AutoNation from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup upgraded AutoNation to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.75.

AutoNation Stock Performance

Shares of AN opened at $192.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $180.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.51. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.33 and a 12-month high of $198.50.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $6.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.53 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 30.08% and a net margin of 2.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation Company 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.