Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases New Stake in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Key Points

• Van ECK Associates acquired 12,064 AutoNation shares worth approximately $2.24 million, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 94.62% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish: ten rate AutoNation a Buy and two rate it Hold, resulting in a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $250.
• AutoNation reported quarterly EPS of $5.56, exceeding estimates of $5.48, although revenue fell 0.6% year over year to $6.93 billion. The stock opened at $207.51, near its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,064 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,241,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 37.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 49.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 259 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 33.0% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 306 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Monetary Solutions Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the fourth quarter valued at about $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $287.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Argus increased their price target on shares of AutoNation from $241.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Northcoast Research upgraded AutoNation from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $240.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $248.00 target price on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $250.00.

Insider Transactions at AutoNation

In other news, Director Lisa Lutoff-Perlo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $198,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,757,580. This represents a 10.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AutoNation Trading Up 0.8%

AN opened at $207.51 on Friday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $176.62 and a 52 week high of $235.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.28. The firm has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.72.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $5.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.48 by $0.08. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.24% and a net margin of 2.82%.The firm had revenue of $6.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.69 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoNation Company Profile

AutoNation, Inc is the largest automotive retailer in the United States, operating a network of franchised new vehicle dealerships, pre-owned vehicle superstores and collision-repair centers. The company offers a comprehensive range of automotive products and services, including the sale of new cars and light trucks from leading manufacturers, certified pre-owned vehicles and a wide selection of used models. In addition to retail vehicle sales, AutoNation provides financing, insurance and extended service contracts through its in-house financial services division, as well as genuine and aftermarket parts, factory-recommended maintenance and collision-repair services.

Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, AutoNation was founded in 1996 by entrepreneur H.

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