Private Management Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Private Management Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 3.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,295 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,435 shares during the quarter. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $24,890,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AN. Choreo LLC grew its position in AutoNation by 31.2% during the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in shares of AutoNation during the 1st quarter worth $291,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the 1st quarter worth $316,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in AutoNation by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 28,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,624,000 after purchasing an additional 5,462 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on AN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on AutoNation from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on AutoNation from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.44.

AutoNation Price Performance

NYSE:AN opened at $207.10 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $203.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.87. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.33 and a 1 year high of $228.92.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $5.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.74 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.38% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.02 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current year.

AutoNation announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, October 31st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

AutoNation Company 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.