Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 1,813 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 54.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,172 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,813 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $878,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AutoNation during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,136,000. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,814,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,312,000 after purchasing an additional 203,335 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 851,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,682,000 after purchasing an additional 160,794 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,239,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in AutoNation during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $7,836,000. 94.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AutoNation Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:AN opened at $158.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 9.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.15. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.61. AutoNation, Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.08 and a 12 month high of $198.50.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported $4.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.26 by $0.71. AutoNation had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.59%. Research analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on AN. Evercore ISI increased their target price on AutoNation from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AutoNation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.86.

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.