Ethic Inc. Sells 436 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Ethic Inc. lessened its position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,550 shares of the company’s stock after selling 436 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $773,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC raised its position 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. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 465,000 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position 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 buying an additional 426,882 shares during the last quarter. Cartenna Capital LP bought a new stake in AutoNation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,831,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,136,000. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on AutoNation from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cfra Research raised shares of AutoNation to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of AutoNation from $212.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of AutoNation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.75.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of AutoNation stock opened at $189.43 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.00. AutoNation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $148.33 and a twelve month high of $198.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.96.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.35 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.53 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.49 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current year.

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.