Bank of America Corp DE Takes $36.92 Million Position in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired a new $36.9 million stake in AutoNation during the second quarter, purchasing 198,747 shares and owning approximately 0.60% of the company.
• AutoNation reported quarterly EPS of $5.56, beating estimates of $5.48, while revenue reached $6.93 billion, down 0.6% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on the stock, with an average price target of $246.50; ten analysts rate it Buy and two rate it Hold.

Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 198,747 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,925,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.60% of AutoNation as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 33.0% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 306 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Monetary Solutions Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the 4th quarter worth $64,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoNation during the 2nd quarter worth $63,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 59.4% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 400 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in AutoNation by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 566 shares of the company's stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AutoNation

In other news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $198,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,757,580. The trade was a 10.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

AutoNation Price Performance

NYSE:AN opened at $168.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $204.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $197.20. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $165.14 and a 1-year high of $235.81. The firm has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.72.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.48 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 31.24%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.69 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AN shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of AutoNation from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup decreased their price target on AutoNation from $290.00 to $255.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Argus raised their price target on AutoNation from $241.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on AutoNation from $220.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $246.50.

AutoNation Profile

AutoNation, Inc is a leading automotive retailer in the United States. The company sells new and used vehicles through a network of franchised dealerships and provides automotive services including vehicle financing, insurance products, maintenance, repair, parts, and collision-repair services.

In addition to its manufacturer-branded dealerships, AutoNation operates AutoNation USA locations focused primarily on used vehicles and offers digital tools that allow customers to research, purchase, finance, and service vehicles online.

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