AutoNation, Inc. $AN Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can cut its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 5.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,378 shares of the company’s stock after selling 304 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $1,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens upped their price target on shares of AutoNation from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on AutoNation from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on AutoNation from $221.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on AutoNation from $255.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.44.

AutoNation Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE AN opened at $196.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $148.33 and a 1-year high of $228.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $211.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $202.71. The company has a market capitalization of $7.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.87.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 2.38%.The firm had revenue of $7.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.02 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, October 31st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.