Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA Buys 770 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA lifted its position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 60.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,038 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 770 shares during the quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in AutoNation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in AutoNation in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in AutoNation by 90.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AutoNation Stock Performance

NYSE AN opened at $158.96 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.54, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $171.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.81 and a 12-month high of $197.18.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by ($0.32). AutoNation had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 36.50%. The firm had revenue of $6.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.29 EPS. AutoNation’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 17.7 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AN. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on AutoNation from $164.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of AutoNation from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.00.

Insider Activity at AutoNation

In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total value of $4,083,789.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,980,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $685,794,659.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total transaction of $4,083,789.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,980,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $685,794,659.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 53,562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.45, for a total value of $10,361,568.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,825,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $740,108,361.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 216,959 shares of company stock worth $39,346,744 over the last 90 days. 0.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.