NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Purchases 128 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,948 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AN. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in AutoNation by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in AutoNation by 81.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 77.1% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 56.8% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $212.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of AutoNation from $194.00 to $176.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of AutoNation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.75.

AutoNation Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of AN stock opened at $189.26 on Friday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.33 and a 12-month high of $198.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $178.75 and its 200 day moving average is $177.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.99.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.35 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.53 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.49 EPS. Research analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoNation Profile

AutoNation, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Domestic, Import, and Premium Luxury. It offers a range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles; and parts and services, such as automotive repair and maintenance, and wholesale parts and collision services.