Candriam S.C.A. Makes New Investment in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Candriam S.C.A. acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 24,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,445,000. Candriam S.C.A. owned approximately 0.07% of AutoNation as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AN. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AutoNation by 7.5% during the second quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 1,214,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,262,000 after acquiring an additional 84,455 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 20.6% during 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. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 51.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 631,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,439,000 after purchasing an additional 215,577 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 455,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,535,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 219.6% in 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. 94.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on AutoNation from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Evercore upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AutoNation from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on AutoNation from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.11.

AutoNation Price Performance

NYSE:AN opened at $208.02 on Thursday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.33 and a 12 month high of $228.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $211.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. The firm has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19 and a beta of 0.88.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $5.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.91 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $6.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.30% and a net margin of 2.35%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.97 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, October 31st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

AutoNation Company 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.