Blue Trust Inc. Lowers Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Blue Trust Inc. trimmed its position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,806 shares of the company’s stock after selling 61 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AN. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 37.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 81.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 45.3% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 1st quarter worth $86,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 38.0% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 508 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoNation Trading Down 2.4%

AutoNation stock opened at $213.02 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $215.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $195.99. 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 one year low of $148.33 and a one year high of $228.92. The stock has a market cap of $8.03 billion, a PE ratio of 13.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.85.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $5.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.70 by $0.76. The business had revenue of $6.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.12% and a net margin of 2.31%.The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.99 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AN. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on AutoNation from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on AutoNation from $255.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on AutoNation from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoNation presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.63.

About AutoNation

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.