HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 74 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,866 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 74 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Simcoe Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in AutoNation during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,255,000. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of AutoNation during the third quarter valued at approximately $20,046,000. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in AutoNation by 739.9% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 109,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,509,000 after buying an additional 96,058 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in AutoNation during the fourth quarter worth $13,239,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in AutoNation in the 4th quarter valued at $7,836,000. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AN shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of AutoNation in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised AutoNation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on AutoNation from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Stephens increased their target price on AutoNation from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.86.

AutoNation Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AN opened at $158.94 on Friday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.08 and a 12-month high of $198.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $179.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.32.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $4.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.71. AutoNation had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.59%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 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.