TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Purchases New Position in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 9,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,096,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AN. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AutoNation during the second quarter valued at approximately $62,613,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in AutoNation by 219.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 316,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,957,000 after purchasing an additional 217,774 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AutoNation by 51.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 631,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,439,000 after purchasing an additional 215,577 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,601,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of AutoNation by 20.6% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 815,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,085,000 after purchasing an additional 139,363 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AutoNation Price Performance

AN opened at $204.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a PE ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $212.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $209.93. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.33 and a 1 year 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.

AutoNation declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, October 31st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AN shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on AutoNation from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on AutoNation from $220.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on AutoNation from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. One research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.67.

AutoNation Profile

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.