Strs Ohio Has $1.51 Million Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Strs Ohio decreased its stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,598 shares of the company’s stock after selling 344 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $1,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 21,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,239,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in AutoNation by 37.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AutoNation by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in AutoNation by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 4,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $761,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AN. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of AutoNation from $255.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of AutoNation from $221.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AutoNation from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of AutoNation from $230.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.75.

AutoNation Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of AN stock opened at $193.56 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $215.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $201.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. The company has a market capitalization of $7.06 billion, a PE ratio of 11.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.87. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.33 and a 12-month high of $228.92.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $6.74 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.38% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.02 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoNation declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, October 31st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.