Quadrature Capital Ltd Has $1.10 Million Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 108.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,540 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,884 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $1,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 37.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in AutoNation by 45.3% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in AutoNation during the first quarter worth $86,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in 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. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 33.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on AutoNation from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Citigroup raised their price objective on AutoNation from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on AutoNation from $221.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AutoNation in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of AutoNation from $255.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.11.

AutoNation Price Performance

AutoNation stock opened at $211.29 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $208.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.63. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.33 and a 12 month high of $228.92. The company has a market capitalization of $7.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93.

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

AutoNation declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, October 31st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.