Cinctive Capital Management LP Invests $788,000 in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Key Points

• Cinctive Capital Management LP acquired a new position with 4,866 shares of AutoNation, Inc., valued at approximately $788,000, during the first quarter.
• AutoNation reported a quarterly earnings per share of $5.46, exceeding the consensus estimate of $4.70, with revenue hitting $6.97 billion.
• Multiple analysts have increased their price targets for AutoNation, with Bank of America setting a new target at $255.00 and maintaining a "buy" rating.

Cinctive Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $788,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,407 shares of the company's stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of AutoNation by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 22,113 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,756,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in AutoNation by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 276,355 shares of the company's stock worth $46,936,000 after purchasing an additional 82,536 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in AutoNation in the 4th quarter valued at about $404,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 82,982 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,094,000 after buying an additional 2,372 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim dropped their target price on AutoNation from $230.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on AutoNation from $209.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of AutoNation from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on AutoNation from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.63.

AutoNation Stock Performance

NYSE:AN traded up $4.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $227.29. The stock had a trading volume of 616,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 362,090. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $188.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.89. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $148.33 and a 52 week high of $228.92.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $5.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.76. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.12% and a net margin of 2.31%.The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.99 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.