AXS Investments LLC Takes Position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

AXS Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its stake in shares of AutoNation by 106.3% during the first quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the first quarter valued at about $65,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the second quarter valued at about $103,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of AutoNation by 101.6% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $171.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AutoNation from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of AutoNation from $105.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of AutoNation in a report on Monday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of AutoNation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AutoNation presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $173.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director George Lawrence Mikan III sold 16,771 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.59, for a total value of $2,676,483.89. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,841,340.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AutoNation Price Performance

AN stock opened at $135.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. AutoNation, Inc. has a one year low of $99.72 and a one year high of $182.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 5.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $140.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $148.48.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 27th. The company reported $5.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.42 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 54.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.00 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 22.75 earnings per share for the current year.

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.