Foster & Motley Inc. Has $3.31 Million Stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Key Points

• Foster & Motley Inc. increased its stake in AutoNation by 75.4% by purchasing an additional 8,772 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to approximately $3.3 million.
• AutoNation reported earnings of $5.46 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $4.70 and achieving a 7.6% revenue growth year-over-year.
• Research analysts have recently raised their price targets for AutoNation, with Bank of America increasing its target from $225 to $255 and currently holding a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Foster & Motley Inc. grew its position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) by 75.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,412 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,772 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of AutoNation worth $3,305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AN. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 50.3% during the fourth quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 1,461,213 shares of the company's stock valued at $248,172,000 after purchasing an additional 488,904 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $97,658,000 after purchasing an additional 465,000 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 63.0% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,104,934 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,662,000 after purchasing an additional 426,882 shares during the last quarter. Cartenna Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,831,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,136,000. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AutoNation Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of AN stock traded down $2.06 on Friday, hitting $190.58. The stock had a trading volume of 370,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 491,716. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. AutoNation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $148.33 and a twelve month high of $217.40. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $196.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.77. The firm has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.94, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on AN shares. Stephens increased their price target on shares of AutoNation from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AutoNation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 10th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of AutoNation to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $212.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.38.

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.