Towle & Co. Sells 10,282 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Towle & Co. reduced its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,996 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,282 shares during the period. AutoNation accounts for approximately 2.9% of Towle & Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Towle & Co. owned 0.14% of AutoNation worth $11,375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of AutoNation in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Syon Capital LLC acquired a new position in AutoNation during the third quarter valued at approximately $548,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 3.2% in the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the third quarter worth $230,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,176,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $694,950,000 after buying an additional 34,153 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Trading Up 0.0%

AutoNation stock opened at $201.15 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $209.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $210.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The stock has a market cap of $6.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 0.88. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.33 and a 12 month high of $228.92.

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 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%.AutoNation’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current year.

AutoNation announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, October 31st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 13.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on AutoNation from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Stephens raised their target price on AutoNation from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore lifted their price target on AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.11.

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.