Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Boosts Position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,596 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $2,492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AN. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the third quarter valued at $67,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 18.0% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 708 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 17.9% in the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the third quarter valued at about $128,000. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoNation Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of AN stock traded down $1.90 on Thursday, reaching $157.62. 53,888 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 438,384. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $153.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.77. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.81 and a 12-month high of $182.08. The company has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.24.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $5.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $6.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.67 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 48.76% and a net margin of 3.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.37 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $165.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of AutoNation in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of AutoNation from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AutoNation from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $117.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoNation presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.00.

Insider Activity at AutoNation

In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total value of $16,126,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,167,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $672,013,960.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 10,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.56, for a total value of $1,669,866.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 4,267,860 shares in the company, valued at approximately $659,640,441.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.26, for a total transaction of $16,126,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,167,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,013,960.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 121,279 shares of company stock worth $19,361,962 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

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.