AutoNation, Inc. $AN Shares Sold by Garner Asset Management Corp

Key Points

• Garner Asset Management cut its AutoNation stake by 24.3% in the third quarter, selling 6,023 shares and retaining 18,728 shares valued at about $3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.62% of the company.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $227.50; eight analysts rate the stock Buy, three Hold, and two Sell.
• AutoNation reported quarterly EPS of $5.11, slightly above estimates of $5.08, and revenue of $7.01 billion versus $6.93 billion expected. Revenue was down 0.4% year over year.

Garner Asset Management Corp cut its position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) by 24.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,728 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,023 shares during the period. Garner Asset Management Corp owned about 0.06% of AutoNation worth $3,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Investment Management LLC lifted its position in AutoNation by 1.1% in the first quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 5,372 shares of the company's stock worth $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management boosted its stake in AutoNation by 0.7% during the third quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 9,712 shares of the company's stock worth $1,529,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AutoNation by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the company's stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in AutoNation by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 306 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in AutoNation by 73.9% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 193 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of AutoNation from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research lowered shares of AutoNation from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of AutoNation from $255.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of AutoNation from $202.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $227.50.

AutoNation Stock Down 3.8%

AN opened at $178.76 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $176.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.77. AutoNation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $151.82 and a twelve month high of $235.81. The firm has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.09, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.82.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $5.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.08 by $0.03. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.63% and a return on equity of 31.18%. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.01 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About AutoNation

AutoNation, Inc is a U.S.-based automotive retailer that sells new and used vehicles through a network of dealerships and online sales channels. The company represents a range of domestic, import and luxury automotive brands, offering passenger cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles.

In addition to vehicle sales, AutoNation provides automotive maintenance and repair, parts, collision-repair services, vehicle protection products and financing options. Its retail operations include traditional dealerships as well as AutoNation USA locations, which focus primarily on used vehicles and related services.

Founded in 1996 as Republic Industries, the company adopted the AutoNation name as it developed its automotive retail business.

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