Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $31.51 Million Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Key Points

• Wedge Capital trimmed its AutoNation stake by 3.5% in Q4, selling 5,572 shares and ending the quarter with 152,589 shares valued at $31.51 million (about 0.42% of the company).
• Institutional ownership stands at 94.62%, with several large funds adding or initiating positions—Norges Bank opened a ~$62.6M stake, Arrowstreet boosted to ~333,975 shares (~$73M), and AQR now holds ~631,744 shares (~$125.4M).
• AutoNation has a market cap of $6.6B, recently reported an EPS beat ($5.08 vs. $4.91) despite a revenue decline to $6.93B, and carries a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $248.67.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lessened its holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 152,589 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,572 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.42% of AutoNation worth $31,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $62,613,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in AutoNation by 260.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 333,975 shares of the company's stock worth $73,064,000 after purchasing an additional 241,265 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in AutoNation by 219.6% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 316,923 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,957,000 after purchasing an additional 217,774 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in AutoNation by 51.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 631,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $125,439,000 after purchasing an additional 215,577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in AutoNation by 38.3% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 548,677 shares of the company's stock valued at $120,034,000 after buying an additional 151,966 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company's stock.

AutoNation Price Performance

AN stock opened at $192.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $200.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $207.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.84. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.33 and a 52-week high of $228.92.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $5.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.91 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $6.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.21 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 31.69%. AutoNation's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AN has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AutoNation from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $235.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on AutoNation from $233.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on AutoNation from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Stephens increased their target price on AutoNation from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered AutoNation from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoNation has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $248.67.

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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