State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Trims Stake in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,429 shares of the company’s stock after selling 211 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $2,072,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in AutoNation by 7.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,256,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $527,261,000 after buying an additional 219,474 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in AutoNation by 8.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,964,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,749,000 after buying an additional 149,959 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 676,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,550,000 after purchasing an additional 15,112 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 144.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 416,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,950,000 after purchasing an additional 245,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in AutoNation in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,060,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE AN opened at $196.22 on Thursday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.33 and a 12 month high of $228.92. The company has a 50-day moving average of $217.70 and a 200-day moving average of $200.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $7.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.85.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $5.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.16. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.38% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The company had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.02 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AN shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of AutoNation from $221.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of AutoNation from $255.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of AutoNation in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.63.

About AutoNation

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.