Eisler Capital Management Ltd. Buys 19,476 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Key Points

• Eisler Capital Management Ltd. significantly increased its stake in AutoNation, buying 19,476 shares during the first quarter, raising its ownership to approximately 50,189 shares valued at $8,124,000.
• Several financial analysts have raised their price targets for AutoNation, with Bank of America updating its target from $225 to $255 and Morgan Stanley from $195 to $220, indicating a generally positive outlook for the stock.
• AutoNation reported $5.46 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenues totaling $6.97 billion, reflecting a 7.6% increase year-over-year.

Eisler Capital Management Ltd. increased its stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) by 63.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,189 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 19,476 shares during the quarter. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. owned about 0.13% of AutoNation worth $8,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the first quarter worth $36,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 81.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoNation during the first quarter valued at $86,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 56.8% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 839 shares of the company's stock valued at $136,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AN shares. Bank of America raised their price target on AutoNation from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AutoNation from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Stephens raised their price target on AutoNation from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on AutoNation from $209.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AutoNation presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $223.25.

AutoNation Stock Performance

AN opened at $221.11 on Wednesday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.33 and a 52-week high of $222.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The company has a market cap of $8.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $203.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.01.

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

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