Prosperitas Financial LLC Buys 2,689 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Prosperitas Financial LLC raised its stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 13.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,981 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,689 shares during the quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $4,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in AutoNation by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in AutoNation by 0.9% during the third quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,376,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC increased its position in AutoNation by 1.1% in the first quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 5,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,049,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of AutoNation by 13.3% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoNation news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $198,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,989 shares in the company, valued at $1,757,580. This represents a 10.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AN has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AutoNation from $202.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 target price on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Argus lifted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $241.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of AutoNation from $287.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $250.00.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AN opened at $207.51 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $202.34 and a 200 day moving average of $197.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.72. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $176.62 and a 12 month high of $235.81.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.48 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 31.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.69 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.