Woodline Partners LP Acquires Shares of 67,102 AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP acquired 67,102 shares of AutoNation, Inc. for approximately $10.9 million, representing 0.18% of the company as of the latest reporting period.
• Several financial institutions, including Stifel Financial Corp and Millennium Management LLC, have made significant adjustments to their holdings in AutoNation, with 94.62% of the stock being owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Research analysts have set a consensus target price of $222.63 for AutoNation, with upgrades from multiple firms, reflecting growing optimism about the company's performance.

Woodline Partners 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 Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 67,102 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,865,000. Woodline Partners LP owned approximately 0.18% of AutoNation as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AN. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in AutoNation by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 82,982 shares of the company's stock worth $14,094,000 after purchasing an additional 2,372 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in AutoNation in the 4th quarter worth about $503,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in AutoNation by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 14,133 shares of the company's stock worth $2,400,000 after purchasing an additional 7,788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in AutoNation by 2,229.1% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 75,254 shares of the company's stock worth $12,781,000 after purchasing an additional 72,023 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company's stock.

AutoNation Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of AutoNation stock traded up $2.22 on Wednesday, reaching $222.12. 41,544 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 474,248. The company has a market capitalization of $8.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.89. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $148.33 and a 52 week high of $228.92. The firm's 50-day moving average is $209.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $189.62. 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 (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $5.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.76. The firm had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.77 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.12% and a net margin of 2.31%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.99 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on AutoNation from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on AutoNation from $230.00 to $228.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AutoNation from $209.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen cut AutoNation from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AutoNation from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $222.63.

AutoNation 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.