Denali Advisors LLC Cuts Position in AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Denali Advisors LLC lowered its position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 14.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,250 shares of the company’s stock after selling 203 shares during the quarter. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of AutoNation by 1.1% in the second quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of AutoNation by 0.9% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AutoNation by 0.9% in the second quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. increased its position in shares of AutoNation by 1.9% in the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 4,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $761,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Stock Down 3.5%

AN opened at $208.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market cap of $7.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.09, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.85. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $148.33 and a 52 week high of $228.92. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $218.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $199.13.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $5.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.85 by $0.16. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.12% and a net margin of 2.31%.The company had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on AutoNation from $205.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on AutoNation from $221.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered AutoNation from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price objective on AutoNation from $230.00 to $228.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.63.

About AutoNation

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.