Lodge Hill Capital LLC Buys Shares of 95,000 AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Lodge Hill Capital LLC purchased a new position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 95,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,141,000. AutoNation comprises about 4.1% of Lodge Hill Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in AutoNation by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AutoNation in the fourth quarter worth about $42,748,000. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 696.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 45,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,787,000 after purchasing an additional 39,515 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation during the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in AutoNation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,430,000. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of AutoNation stock opened at $174.51 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $172.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.69. AutoNation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.81 and a twelve month high of $197.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.78.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoNation

In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total value of $4,083,789.87. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,980,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $685,794,659.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 53,562 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.45, for a total value of $10,361,568.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,825,838 shares in the company, valued at approximately $740,108,361.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total value of $4,083,789.87. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,980,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $685,794,659.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 216,959 shares of company stock worth $39,346,744 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

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.