AutoNation, Inc. $AN Stock Position Trimmed by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,392,653 shares of the company’s stock after selling 167,521 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $304,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in AutoNation during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 355.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AutoNation by 37.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AN shares. Evercore upped their price target on shares of AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on AutoNation from $233.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on AutoNation from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on AutoNation from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.67.

AutoNation Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE:AN opened at $193.19 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $207.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1-year low of $148.33 and a 1-year high of $228.92.

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

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.