Dark Forest Capital Management LP Cuts Stock Holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP cut its stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 43.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,013 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,542 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AN. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,605,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,910,000 after buying an additional 41,712 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new position in AutoNation during the 1st quarter worth approximately $170,270,000. LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of AutoNation by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 781,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,607,000 after purchasing an additional 4,350 shares during the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 267,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,317,000 after purchasing an additional 4,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eminence Capital LP lifted its position in shares of AutoNation by 84.4% during the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 261,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,338,000 after purchasing an additional 119,866 shares during the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AutoNation Stock Up 2.6 %

AN opened at $182.61 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $173.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.88. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.81 and a 52 week high of $197.18. The company has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.99 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.31 by ($0.32). AutoNation had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 36.50%. The firm had revenue of $6.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.29 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 17.67 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at AutoNation

In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.06, for a total value of $91,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,825,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $696,441,036.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.06, for a total value of $91,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,825,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $696,441,036.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total transaction of $4,083,789.87. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,980,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $685,794,659.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 216,959 shares of company stock valued at $39,346,744. 0.74% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AN. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on AutoNation from $164.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on AutoNation from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price on AutoNation from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of AutoNation from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $145.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.75.

AutoNation Company 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.