SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 16,507 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. $AN

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 42.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,005 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,507 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $4,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AN. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in AutoNation by 2,477.8% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in AutoNation by 37.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in AutoNation by 45.3% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 54.1% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 413 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on AutoNation from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of AutoNation in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $244.00.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of AN opened at $216.20 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $206.66 and a 200-day moving average of $209.33. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.33 and a 1 year high of $228.92. The company has a market capitalization of $7.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.20.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $5.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.85 by $0.16. The firm 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 company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.02 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoNation declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, October 31st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About AutoNation

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.