Blueshift Asset Management LLC Buys New Shares in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Key Points

• Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired 7,557 shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) valued at approximately $1.224 million during the first quarter.
• AutoNation received several positive analyst ratings, with Bank of America raising its price target from $225.00 to $255.00 and designating it a "buy."
• The company's most recent quarterly earnings showed a profit of $5.46 earnings per share, exceeding expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 7.6%.

Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,224,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in AutoNation by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 0.9% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,580 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,227,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 11,171 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,897,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 1.6% in the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 4,918 shares of the company's stock valued at $796,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the company's stock valued at $208,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AutoNation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 10th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Citigroup upgraded shares of AutoNation to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Stephens upped 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. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of AutoNation to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.38.

AutoNation Stock Performance

NYSE:AN traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $190.65. The stock had a trading volume of 136,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 489,196. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.86. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $148.33 and a 52 week high of $217.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $5.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.76. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 31.12%. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.99 EPS. AutoNation's 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 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.