AutoNation, Inc. $AN Shares Purchased by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 2.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,605 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,801 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $13,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 12.6% during the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 56,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,164,000 after purchasing an additional 6,300 shares in the last quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in AutoNation during the second quarter worth $8,641,000. Landaas & Co. WI ADV acquired a new stake in AutoNation during the second quarter valued at $205,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in AutoNation by 0.4% in the second quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 19,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,865,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 2.9% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 5,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE AN opened at $211.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.53. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.33 and a 1 year high of $228.92.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $5.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.74 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 2.38%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.02 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoNation announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, October 31st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AN. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of AutoNation from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on AutoNation from $255.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Wall Street Zen cut AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of AutoNation from $221.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.11.

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.