Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Stock Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 2.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,605,708 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,712 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $255,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in shares of AutoNation in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoNation by 90.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of AutoNation in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of AutoNation in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoNation by 79.7% in the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on AutoNation from $164.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on AutoNation from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on AutoNation from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Stephens initiated coverage on AutoNation in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on AutoNation from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $194.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 500 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.06, for a total value of $91,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,825,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $696,441,036.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 500 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.06, for a total value of $91,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,825,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $696,441,036.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.21, for a total value of $17,621,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,880,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $683,777,090.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 216,959 shares of company stock valued at $39,346,744. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AutoNation Price Performance

AN stock opened at $170.84 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $172.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market cap of $6.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.20. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.81 and a 52-week high of $197.18.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.31 by ($0.32). The business had revenue of $6.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.72 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 36.50% and a net margin of 2.93%. AutoNation’s revenue was down 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 17.67 earnings per share for the current year.

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.