Dynasty Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Dynasty Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 65.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,991 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,759 shares during the period. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $1,529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoNation during the third quarter valued at about $1,401,000. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in AutoNation during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,251,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in AutoNation by 873.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 4,384 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management bought a new position in AutoNation during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,024,000. Finally, 111 Capital purchased a new stake in AutoNation in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AN shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on AutoNation from $220.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two 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 target price of $244.22.

AutoNation Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of AutoNation stock opened at $215.23 on Wednesday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.33 and a 1 year high of $228.92. The firm has a market cap of $7.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $209.53 and a 200 day moving average of $209.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.20.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $5.01 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $7.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.02 earnings per share. The business’s 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 announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, October 31st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About AutoNation

AutoNation, Inc is the largest automotive retailer in the United States, operating a network of franchised new vehicle dealerships, pre-owned vehicle superstores and collision-repair centers. The company offers a comprehensive range of automotive products and services, including the sale of new cars and light trucks from leading manufacturers, certified pre-owned vehicles and a wide selection of used models. In addition to retail vehicle sales, AutoNation provides financing, insurance and extended service contracts through its in-house financial services division, as well as genuine and aftermarket parts, factory-recommended maintenance and collision-repair services.

Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, AutoNation was founded in 1996 by entrepreneur H.