Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Buys 4,940 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) by 34.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,206 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,940 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in AutoNation were worth $3,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Partners raised its stake in AutoNation by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,814,228 shares of the company's stock valued at $309,312,000 after purchasing an additional 203,335 shares in the last quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC raised its stake in AutoNation by 50.3% during the fourth quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 1,461,213 shares of the company's stock worth $248,172,000 after acquiring an additional 488,904 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its stake in AutoNation by 63.0% during the fourth quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,104,934 shares of the company's stock worth $187,662,000 after acquiring an additional 426,882 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in AutoNation by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 851,870 shares of the company's stock worth $144,682,000 after acquiring an additional 160,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake 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 worth $97,658,000 after acquiring an additional 465,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on AN. Wall Street Zen raised AutoNation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on AutoNation from $187.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Cfra Research raised AutoNation to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on AutoNation from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup raised AutoNation to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.88.

AutoNation Trading Down 0.5%

AN stock traded down $0.96 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $204.36. The company had a trading volume of 488,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 459,453. The business has a 50-day moving average of $193.73 and a 200-day moving average of $181.57. AutoNation, Inc. has a one year low of $148.33 and a one year high of $217.40. The stock has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.09, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72.

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

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.