Ieq Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 26,102 AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC acquired 26,102 AutoNation shares valued at approximately $4.85 million, while institutional investors collectively own 94.62% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $250; several firms recently raised their targets to between $246 and $260.
• AutoNation reported quarterly EPS of $5.56, beating estimates of $5.48, although revenue declined 0.6% year over year to $6.93 billion. Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo separately sold 900 shares for $198,000.

Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 26,102 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,849,000. Ieq Capital LLC owned approximately 0.08% of AutoNation as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AN. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in AutoNation by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 57,269 shares of the company's stock worth $11,825,000 after acquiring an additional 12,210 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 4th quarter valued at $6,443,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 4th quarter valued at $4,077,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 180.1% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 13,206 shares of the company's stock worth $2,727,000 after purchasing an additional 8,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 4th quarter worth $2,247,000. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on AN shares. Argus boosted their price target on AutoNation from $241.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $248.00 price objective on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of AutoNation from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoNation has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $250.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $198,000.00. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

AutoNation Price Performance

AutoNation stock opened at $198.86 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $200.60 and a 200-day moving average of $197.79.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.48 by $0.08. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.24% and a net margin of 2.82%.The business had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. AutoNation's revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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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