Teacher Retirement System of Texas Reduces Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lowered its position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,504 shares of the company’s stock after selling 201 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in AutoNation were worth $1,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 81.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 77.1% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 494 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 worth $136,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of AutoNation from $212.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cfra Research upgraded shares of AutoNation to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AutoNation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.88.

AutoNation Stock Performance

AutoNation stock opened at $212.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $192.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.22. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.33 and a 12 month high of $217.40.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 30.08%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.49 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current 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.