AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) Short Interest Up 20.2% in March

AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,168,113 shares, a growth of 20.2% from the March 15th total of 1,804,428 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 447,832 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days. Approximately 6.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $230.00 to $207.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of AutoNation from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $233.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of AutoNation in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $244.33.

AutoNation Trading Up 4.9%

Shares of AN traded up $9.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $208.08. The stock had a trading volume of 331,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 379,867. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.22. AutoNation has a 52-week low of $155.29 and a 52-week high of $228.92. The business’s fifty day moving average is $195.86 and its 200 day moving average is $204.73. The firm has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.81.

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 firm had revenue of $6.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.97 earnings per share. AutoNation’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AutoNation will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AutoNation

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the third quarter worth about $1,140,000. Simcoe Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the third quarter worth about $18,988,000. Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in AutoNation in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,024,000. 44 Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in AutoNation in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,378,000. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in AutoNation by 65.2% in the third quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 2,759 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

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.