Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Takes $694,000 Position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,287 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $694,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in AutoNation during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AutoNation by 77.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 494 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on AN shares. Citigroup raised shares of AutoNation to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of AutoNation from $212.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Cfra Research raised shares of AutoNation to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AutoNation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 10th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Three equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.75.

AutoNation Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:AN traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $199.33. 472,870 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 458,933. The company has a market capitalization of $7.51 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.99. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.33 and a 52-week high of $203.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.77. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $184.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.21.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $6.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.53 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 30.08% and a net margin of 2.51%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation Company 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.