Rialto Wealth Management LLC Buys 5,205 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Rialto Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 364.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,633 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,205 shares during the period. Rialto Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $1,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AN. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of AutoNation by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,070,000 after purchasing an additional 1,551 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of AutoNation during the first quarter worth about $265,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in AutoNation by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 98,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,967,000 after buying an additional 9,656 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in AutoNation by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in AutoNation by 37.4% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AN. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AutoNation in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on AutoNation from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.11.

AutoNation Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:AN opened at $202.10 on Monday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.33 and a 52-week high of $228.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $211.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.66.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.21 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.69% and a net margin of 2.35%.The business’s revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.97 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoNation announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, October 31st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

AutoNation 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.