Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 266 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,624 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in AutoNation were worth $1,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AN. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AutoNation by 37.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 45.3% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 38.0% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 508 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the first quarter worth $86,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 33.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of AN opened at $210.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a PE ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s fifty day moving average is $207.93 and its 200 day moving average is $204.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.79. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.33 and a fifty-two week high of $228.92.

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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Citigroup upped their price objective on AutoNation from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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 report on Wednesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.11.

AutoNation 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.