Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Decreases Stock Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Key Points

• Gamco Investors INC. ET AL reduced its stake in AutoNation, Inc. by 2.4%, now holding 373,795 shares valued at approximately $60.5 million.
• Multiple institutional investors increased their stakes in AutoNation, with Brave Warrior Advisors LLC growing their holdings by 50.3% and Alyeska Investment Group L.P. by 63.0% during the last quarter.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for AutoNation, with Bank of America setting a new target of $255 and the stock currently holding an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $223.25.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lowered its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 373,795 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,385 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned 0.99% of AutoNation worth $60,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AN. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 14,737 shares of the company's stock worth $2,503,000 after buying an additional 1,215 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,407 shares of the company's stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in AutoNation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $395,000. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. bought a new position in AutoNation in the 4th quarter valued at $1,900,000. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on AN. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AutoNation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of AutoNation from $230.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of AutoNation from $209.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on shares of AutoNation from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoNation currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $223.25.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of AutoNation stock traded down $3.51 on Friday, hitting $218.83. 317,368 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 379,551. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $205.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.63. 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 market cap of $8.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.89. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.33 and a 12-month high of $224.00.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.77 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 31.12%. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.99 EPS. Analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About AutoNation

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.