Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) by 183.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,723 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,408 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in AutoNation were worth $603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 50.3% in the 4th quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 1,461,213 shares of the company's stock worth $248,172,000 after purchasing an additional 488,904 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its holdings in 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 period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in AutoNation by 63.0% in the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,104,934 shares of the company's stock worth $187,662,000 after buying an additional 426,882 shares during the last quarter. Cartenna Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the fourth quarter valued at $56,831,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the fourth quarter valued at $38,136,000. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AutoNation Price Performance

NYSE AN traded down $2.70 on Friday, hitting $189.26. The stock had a trading volume of 267,220 shares, compared to its average volume of 461,322. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $178.75 and a 200-day moving average of $177.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.74. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.33 and a 52-week high of $198.50. The company has a market capitalization of $7.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.99.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.35 by $0.33. AutoNation had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.59%. The company had revenue of $6.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.49 earnings per share. AutoNation's revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AN. Guggenheim cut their price target on 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 upgraded shares of AutoNation to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup raised shares of AutoNation to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $194.00 to $176.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AutoNation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoNation has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.75.

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.