Versor Investments LP Decreases Stake in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Versor Investments LP lowered its holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 48.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,868 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,598 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $1,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AutoNation during the second quarter worth about $62,613,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 219.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 316,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,957,000 after purchasing an additional 217,774 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in AutoNation by 51.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 631,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,439,000 after buying an additional 215,577 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in shares of AutoNation during the third quarter worth about $34,601,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 20.6% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 815,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,085,000 after purchasing an additional 139,363 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AutoNation Trading Down 3.0%

NYSE:AN opened at $210.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.33 and a 12 month high of $228.92. The company’s 50 day moving average is $211.88 and its 200-day moving average is $210.40.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $5.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.91 by $0.17. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.30% and a net margin of 2.35%.The company had revenue of $6.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current year.

AutoNation announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Friday, October 31st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AN. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Sunday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Evercore upped their target price on AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $244.56.

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.