Amundi Buys New Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Key Points

• Amundi acquired 42,174 AutoNation shares in the first quarter, valued at approximately $8.24 million, giving it a 0.13% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 94.62% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 10 Buy ratings and two Holds. AutoNation has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $247.45.
• AutoNation reported quarterly EPS of $5.56, exceeding estimates of $5.48, while revenue of $6.93 billion fell short of expectations and declined 0.6% year over year.

Amundi purchased a new position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 42,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,235,000. Amundi owned approximately 0.13% of AutoNation as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its position in AutoNation by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 57,269 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,825,000 after purchasing an additional 12,210 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in AutoNation in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,443,000. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in AutoNation by 180.1% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 13,206 shares of the company's stock worth $2,727,000 after purchasing an additional 8,491 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in AutoNation in the fourth quarter worth about $2,247,000. Finally, Evolve Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,077,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on AutoNation from $202.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on AutoNation from $235.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $248.00 target price on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Monday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoNation has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $247.45.

AutoNation Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of AN stock opened at $215.68 on Thursday. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $176.62 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $197.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $198.44.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.48 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.24% and a net margin of 2.82%.The company's revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.59 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoNation Company 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.

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