Holocene Advisors LP Acquires 151,966 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 548,677 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 151,966 shares during the quarter. Holocene Advisors LP owned about 1.50% of AutoNation worth $120,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AutoNation in the second quarter worth $62,613,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 260.2% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 333,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,064,000 after purchasing an additional 241,265 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 219.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 316,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,957,000 after purchasing an additional 217,774 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $125,439,000 after purchasing an additional 215,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,601,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Price Performance

AN stock opened at $183.39 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.84. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $205.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $209.28. The company has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 0.89. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.33 and a 52-week high of $228.92.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $5.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.91 by $0.17. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.69% and a net margin of 2.35%.The firm had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.97 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens boosted their target price on AutoNation from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company 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 note on Tuesday, February 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on AutoNation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Bank of America assumed coverage on AutoNation in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Evercore lifted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.67.

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.