Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 4,331 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 135,423 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,331 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $23,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners lifted its position in AutoNation by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,814,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,312,000 after buying an additional 203,335 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 2.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 854,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,804,000 after acquiring an additional 19,037 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 433,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,623,000 after purchasing an additional 18,588 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 327,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,566,000 after buying an additional 6,277 shares during the period. Finally, Simcoe Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the third quarter worth approximately $42,255,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AN. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on AutoNation from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised AutoNation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on AutoNation from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.86.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of AN opened at $158.94 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.82. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.08 and a 52-week high of $198.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.32.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $4.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.26 by $0.71. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 30.48%. Sell-side analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation Company 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.