Quarry LP Buys Shares of 1,451 AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Key Points

• Quarry LP has made a new investment of $235,000 in AutoNation, acquiring 1,451 shares during the first quarter, according to a recent SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors, including Vident Advisory and Magnetar Financial, have significantly increased their holdings in AutoNation, leading to a total ownership of 94.62% by institutional investors.
• AutoNation reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $5.46, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenues of $6.97 billion and a forecasted EPS of 18.15 for the current fiscal year.

Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,451 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AN. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in AutoNation by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,407 shares of the company's stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in AutoNation by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,517 shares of the company's stock worth $2,636,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in AutoNation by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 22,113 shares of the company's stock worth $3,756,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in AutoNation by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 276,355 shares of the company's stock worth $46,936,000 after acquiring an additional 82,536 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in AutoNation during the 4th quarter worth about $404,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim lowered their price target on AutoNation from $230.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on AutoNation from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AutoNation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. 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. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on AutoNation from $225.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $223.25.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of AutoNation stock traded up $0.88 on Friday, hitting $226.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 437,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 331,494. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.81. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.33 and a 1 year high of $228.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $207.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $187.66. The company has a market capitalization of $8.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.89.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $5.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.76. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.12% and a net margin of 2.31%.The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.99 EPS. AutoNation's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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.