New York State Teachers Retirement System Decreases Stake in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 0.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,481 shares of the company’s stock after selling 233 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.08% of AutoNation worth $6,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 37.4% in the first 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 81.1% during the first 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 raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 45.3% during the second 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 position in shares of AutoNation during the first quarter worth $86,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 38.0% during the second 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AN. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AutoNation from $205.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of AutoNation from $255.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.63.

AutoNation Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE AN opened at $216.60 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $218.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $198.52. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.33 and a 52-week high of $228.92. The firm has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84.

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