Simcoe Capital Management LLC Makes New $18.99 Million Investment in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Simcoe Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 86,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,988,000. AutoNation accounts for about 2.8% of Simcoe Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 1.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,176,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $694,950,000 after buying an additional 34,153 shares during the last quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC grew its stake in AutoNation by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 1,214,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,262,000 after buying an additional 84,455 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in AutoNation by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 907,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,460,000 after buying an additional 91,232 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AutoNation by 51.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 631,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,439,000 after acquiring an additional 215,577 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AutoNation by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 455,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,535,000 after acquiring an additional 1,442 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Stock Down 0.7%

AN opened at $183.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $205.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.45. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.33 and a fifty-two week high of $228.92.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $5.08 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.97 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore upped their price target on shares of AutoNation from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Stephens lifted their price objective on AutoNation from $228.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $235.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on AutoNation from $233.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on AutoNation from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AutoNation presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.