Live Oak Investment Partners Acquires Shares of 10,629 AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Live Oak Investment Partners bought a new position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 10,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,325,000. AutoNation makes up 1.7% of Live Oak Investment Partners’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 37.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 45.3% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 54.1% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 413 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AN shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on AutoNation from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of AutoNation from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoNation currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $244.22.

AutoNation Stock Up 1.2%

AN opened at $214.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.20. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.33 and a fifty-two week high of $228.92. The business has a 50-day moving average of $208.18 and a 200-day moving average of $209.64.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $5.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $7.04 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

About AutoNation

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.