Holocene Advisors LP Purchases 151,966 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 548,677 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 151,966 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $120,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on AutoNation from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $233.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of AutoNation from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.67.

AutoNation Stock Down 0.7%

AN stock opened at $183.39 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $205.23 and a 200-day moving average of $209.28. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.33 and a fifty-two week high of $228.92. The company has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.84.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced 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 business had revenue of $6.93 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.97 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoNation Company 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.