LSV Asset Management Sells 31,370 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. $AN

LSV Asset Management lowered its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 537,225 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,370 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 1.47% of AutoNation worth $117,529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AN. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new stake in AutoNation during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of AutoNation in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoNation by 355.3% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 37.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 2,477.8% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of AutoNation from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Sunday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on AutoNation from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AutoNation currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.11.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AN opened at $206.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $211.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.38. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.33 and a fifty-two week high of $228.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.79.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $5.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.91 by $0.17. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 31.30%. The company had revenue of $6.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.97 EPS. AutoNation’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, October 31st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.