AutoNation, Inc. $AN Shares Acquired by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 127.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,710 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 51,966 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned about 0.25% of AutoNation worth $18,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 5.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in AutoNation by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 28,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,624,000 after buying an additional 5,462 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in AutoNation by 88.1% during the 1st quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 2,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 23.6% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 41,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,772,000 after acquiring an additional 7,981 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoNation Stock Performance

AutoNation stock opened at $215.83 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $7.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.89. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.33 and a 12 month high of $228.92. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $207.49 and its 200-day moving average is $205.51.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $5.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm 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 earned $4.02 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoNation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, October 31st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AN. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on AutoNation from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of AutoNation from $255.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $221.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AutoNation from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoNation presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.