AutoNation, Inc. $AN Shares Bought by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in AutoNation, Inc. by 11.5%, acquiring an additional 15,527 shares, bringing its total ownership to 150,950 shares valued at approximately $24.4 million.
• AutoNation's stock had a recent rating upgrade to "strong buy" from Citigroup, with price targets set by various analysts ranging from $205 to $255.
• The company reported earnings of $5.46 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations and indicating a year-over-year revenue increase of 7.6%.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) by 11.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 150,950 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,527 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.40% of AutoNation worth $24,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AN. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC increased its position in AutoNation by 50.3% during the fourth quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 1,461,213 shares of the company's stock worth $248,172,000 after buying an additional 488,904 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its position in AutoNation by 422.7% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 575,000 shares of the company's stock worth $97,658,000 after buying an additional 465,000 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in AutoNation by 63.0% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,104,934 shares of the company's stock worth $187,662,000 after buying an additional 426,882 shares during the period. Cartenna Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,831,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,060,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AN. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on AutoNation from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on AutoNation from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on AutoNation from $209.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised AutoNation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 10th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on AutoNation from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $223.25.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AN traded down $1.0650 on Thursday, hitting $208.5350. The company's stock had a trading volume of 73,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 479,922. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.33 and a 12-month high of $217.40. The company has a market capitalization of $7.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $201.32 and a 200-day moving average of $185.33.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 31.12%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.99 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current year.

AutoNation 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.