GSA Capital Partners LLP Purchases New Position in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,177 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,148,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 192,434.0% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,424,431 shares of the company's stock valued at $913,557,000 after acquiring an additional 4,422,133 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the 4th quarter valued at $69,319,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 260.2% in the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 333,975 shares of the company's stock worth $73,064,000 after purchasing an additional 241,265 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 51.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 631,744 shares of the company's stock worth $125,439,000 after purchasing an additional 215,577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of AutoNation by 444.2% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 119,163 shares of the company's stock worth $24,605,000 after purchasing an additional 97,268 shares in the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Argus lifted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $241.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $235.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Northcoast Research raised shares of AutoNation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $240.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $255.00 target price on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $248.00 target price on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $250.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoNation news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $198,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,757,580. This represents a 10.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

AutoNation Price Performance

AN opened at $204.93 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $200.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $198.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.78. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $176.62 and a 52 week high of $235.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a PE ratio of 9.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.71.

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

AutoNation Profile

AutoNation, Inc is the largest automotive retailer in the United States, operating a network of franchised new vehicle dealerships, pre-owned vehicle superstores and collision-repair centers. The company offers a comprehensive range of automotive products and services, including the sale of new cars and light trucks from leading manufacturers, certified pre-owned vehicles and a wide selection of used models. In addition to retail vehicle sales, AutoNation provides financing, insurance and extended service contracts through its in-house financial services division, as well as genuine and aftermarket parts, factory-recommended maintenance and collision-repair services.

Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, AutoNation was founded in 1996 by entrepreneur H.

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