Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Grows Position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 22.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,511 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,769 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $1,575,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in AutoNation by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 342,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,491,000 after acquiring an additional 109,571 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in AutoNation by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 300,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,203,000 after buying an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,748,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 4,720 shares during the period. Finally, Eminence Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 84.4% in the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 261,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,338,000 after acquiring an additional 119,866 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.21, for a total transaction of $17,621,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,880,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $683,777,090.07. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 100,000 shares of AutoNation stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.21, for a total transaction of $17,621,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,880,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $683,777,090.07. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David B. Edelson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.00, for a total transaction of $1,680,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 48,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,197,224. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 133,703 shares of company stock worth $23,384,790. 0.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AutoNation Price Performance

NYSE AN traded down $2.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $171.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 429,841. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a PE ratio of 8.21, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day moving average is $166.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.85. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.81 and a fifty-two week high of $182.81.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $4.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.49 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 42.44% and a net margin of 3.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.05 EPS. Analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.21 EPS for the current year.

AutoNation announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, April 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 14.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on AN. Guggenheim upped their price target on AutoNation from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on AutoNation from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $142.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $153.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $184.43.

AutoNation 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.