Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Acquires New Shares in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. has acquired a new stake in AutoNation, Inc., purchasing 16,575 shares valued at approximately $2.68 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have significantly increased their positions in AutoNation, with AQR Capital Management seeing a 144.6% growth in their stake.
• AutoNation's stock has received positive updates from analysts, with target prices raised by firms such as Wells Fargo and Bank of America, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $223.25.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,684,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 144.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 416,167 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,950,000 after purchasing an additional 245,994 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in AutoNation in the 1st quarter worth about $36,060,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in AutoNation by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,256,308 shares of the company's stock valued at $527,261,000 after buying an additional 219,474 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of AutoNation by 8.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,964,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $318,749,000 after buying an additional 149,959 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of AutoNation by 253.0% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 172,264 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,257,000 after buying an additional 123,466 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

AutoNation Stock Performance

AutoNation stock opened at $225.31 on Wednesday. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.33 and a fifty-two week high of $228.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $8.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $208.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $188.21.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $5.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.76. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.12% and a net margin of 2.31%.The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.99 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.