Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Makes New Investment in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 158,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,601,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in AutoNation by 197.5% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 15,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,555,000 after acquiring an additional 10,480 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in AutoNation by 273,300.0% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 2,733 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in AutoNation in the first quarter worth about $86,000. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 3.9% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 10,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,771,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 71.9% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 7,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,245,000 after acquiring an additional 3,214 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AutoNation Stock Up 3.4%

AN stock opened at $209.29 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $205.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.35. The company has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.20. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.33 and a 12 month high of $228.92.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $5.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.85 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.74 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.38% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoNation announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, October 31st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on AN shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $255.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on AutoNation from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $244.00.

AutoNation Company Profile

AutoNation, Inc is the largest automotive retailer in the United States, operating a network of franchised new vehicle dealerships, pre-owned vehicle superstores and collision-repair centers. The company offers a comprehensive range of automotive products and services, including the sale of new cars and light trucks from leading manufacturers, certified pre-owned vehicles and a wide selection of used models. In addition to retail vehicle sales, AutoNation provides financing, insurance and extended service contracts through its in-house financial services division, as well as genuine and aftermarket parts, factory-recommended maintenance and collision-repair services.

Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, AutoNation was founded in 1996 by entrepreneur H.