Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 28,100 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 10.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 237,850 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,100 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $52,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new position in AutoNation during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in AutoNation during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in AutoNation by 355.3% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in AutoNation by 2,477.8% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 37.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AutoNation Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of AutoNation stock opened at $193.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.22. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.33 and a 1 year high of $228.92. The firm has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $207.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.31.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $5.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.91 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $6.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.35% and a return on equity of 31.69%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.97 EPS. Analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of AutoNation from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on AutoNation from $233.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Stephens lifted their price objective on AutoNation from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings cut AutoNation from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.67.

About AutoNation

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.