Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Takes $557,000 Position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $557,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AN. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AutoNation by 25.5% in 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. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in AutoNation by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in AutoNation by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 11,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,897,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AutoNation by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $657,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AutoNation by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of AN stock opened at $194.38 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.47, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $177.39 and its 200 day moving average is $177.01. AutoNation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $148.33 and a twelve month high of $198.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on AutoNation from $194.00 to $176.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup raised AutoNation to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Stephens boosted their target price on AutoNation from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on AutoNation from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price target on AutoNation from $212.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.75.

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.