Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Has $960,000 Stake in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lowered its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 4.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,831 shares of the company’s stock after selling 241 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $960,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 37.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in AutoNation by 45.3% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 1st quarter valued at $86,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 38.0% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in AutoNation by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoNation Trading Down 2.2%

AN opened at $210.59 on Friday. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.33 and a fifty-two week high of $228.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.87. 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’s 50-day moving average is $208.24 and its 200 day moving average is $204.28.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $5.01 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.02 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, October 31st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of AutoNation from $230.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on AutoNation from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold 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 $243.11.

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.