Rhumbline Advisers Buys 13,514 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 87,048 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,514 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in AutoNation were worth $19,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new position in AutoNation in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 37.4% in the first 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 last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 355.3% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 2,477.8% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 232 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Price Performance

AN stock opened at $200.11 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.33 and a 12 month high of $228.92. The firm has a market cap of $7.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $210.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $210.80.

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

AutoNation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, October 31st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on AN shares. Stephens boosted their price target on AutoNation from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Evercore raised their price target on shares of AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.11.

AutoNation 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.