Comerica Bank Sells 136 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Comerica Bank lessened its stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,522 shares of the company’s stock after selling 136 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $1,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AN. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AutoNation during the fourth quarter worth $13,426,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in AutoNation by 42.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 276,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,936,000 after purchasing an additional 82,536 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in AutoNation by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 22,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,756,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Moon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in AutoNation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,582,000. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC raised its stake in AutoNation by 77.5% in the fourth quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 75,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,812,000 after buying an additional 32,927 shares during the period. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AutoNation Stock Performance

NYSE:AN opened at $179.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.61, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.00. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.33 and a fifty-two week high of $198.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $167.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.36.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by $0.33. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AN. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on AutoNation from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup raised shares of AutoNation to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded AutoNation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.75.

AutoNation Profile

AutoNation, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Domestic, Import, and Premium Luxury. It offers a range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles; and parts and services, such as automotive repair and maintenance, and wholesale parts and collision services.