Citigroup Inc. Sells 5,962 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Citigroup Inc. trimmed its position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 39.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,090 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,962 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $1,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in AutoNation by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,176,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $694,950,000 after buying an additional 34,153 shares during the period. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC increased its stake in AutoNation by 7.5% in the second quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 1,214,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,262,000 after acquiring an additional 84,455 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in AutoNation by 20.6% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 815,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,085,000 after purchasing an additional 139,363 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AutoNation by 51.8% during the second 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 during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AutoNation by 0.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 455,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,535,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America started coverage on AutoNation in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Stephens raised their target price on AutoNation from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings cut AutoNation from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Barclays dropped their price objective on AutoNation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore lifted their price objective on AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoNation currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.67.

AutoNation Stock Performance

NYSE:AN opened at $193.34 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.33 and a 1 year high of $228.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $207.13 and a 200-day moving average of $210.32.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $5.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.91 by $0.17. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.69% and a net margin of 2.35%.The business had revenue of $6.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.97 EPS. AutoNation’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.