Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Sells 1,161 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP cut its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 22.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,969 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,161 shares during the period. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 21,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,239,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in AutoNation by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,117,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in AutoNation by 37.4% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AutoNation by 0.9% during the second quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in AutoNation by 0.4% in the second quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 19,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,865,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Stock Performance

Shares of AN opened at $210.59 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.87. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.33 and a 12 month high of $228.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $204.28. 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 (NYSE:AN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $5.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.85 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $7.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.74 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 2.38%.AutoNation’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.02 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, October 31st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays assumed coverage on AutoNation in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on AutoNation from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on AutoNation from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.11.

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.