Caxton Associates LLP Acquires Shares of 23,349 AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in AutoNation, Inc., buying 23,349 shares valued at approximately $3,781,000 during the first quarter.
• AutoNation reported earnings of $5.46 per share for its last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $4.70, and achieved a revenue of $6.97 billion, marking a year-over-year increase of 7.6%.
• Multiple research firms, including Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, have adjusted their price targets for AutoNation, with an average price target of $223.25, indicating a positive outlook for the company's stock.

Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 23,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,781,000. Caxton Associates LLP owned approximately 0.06% of AutoNation as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AN. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in AutoNation by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,407 shares of the company's stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in AutoNation during the fourth quarter worth $404,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in AutoNation by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 82,982 shares of the company's stock worth $14,094,000 after purchasing an additional 2,372 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of AutoNation by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 52,599 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,933,000 after acquiring an additional 6,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the fourth quarter valued at $503,000. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AN. Stephens upped their price objective on AutoNation from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on AutoNation from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AutoNation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on AutoNation from $255.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on AutoNation from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $222.63.

AutoNation Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE:AN traded down $4.85 on Friday, hitting $222.15. 525,276 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 377,064. The stock has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.89. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $209.04 and a 200-day moving average of $189.04. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.33 and a fifty-two week high of $228.92.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $5.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.76. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.12% and a net margin of 2.31%.The firm's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.