Riverview Trust Co Invests $33,000 in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AN. Realta Investment Advisors increased its stake in AutoNation by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 1,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its stake in AutoNation by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 4,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in AutoNation by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its stake in AutoNation by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 5,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $882,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in AutoNation by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 6,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $989,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AutoNation

In other news, Director David B. Edelson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $1,680,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 48,793 shares in the company, valued at $8,197,224. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $153.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.25.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of AN stock opened at $155.25 on Wednesday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.81 and a 1 year high of $182.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $165.12 and its 200-day moving average is $154.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.36, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $4.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.45 by $0.04. AutoNation had a net margin of 3.41% and a return on equity of 42.44%. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.05 earnings per share. AutoNation’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, April 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 14.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About AutoNation

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.