NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Acquires 1,500 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jul 12th, 2023

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN – Free Report) by 46.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,700 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. TFO TDC LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 87.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 101.6% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at AutoNation

In related news, CEO Michael Mark Manley purchased 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $1,014,230.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,227,714.53. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other AutoNation news, CEO Michael Mark Manley bought 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $1,014,230.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,277 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,227,714.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 89,344 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.71, for a total value of $13,465,034.24. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,003,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $754,135,960.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 281,528 shares of company stock valued at $40,282,258. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark lifted their price objective on AutoNation from $185.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, July 3rd. Guggenheim increased their price target on AutoNation from $181.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 17th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on AutoNation in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on AutoNation from $225.00 to $245.00 in a report on Thursday, July 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AutoNation from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.88.

AutoNation Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AN opened at $177.24 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. AutoNation, Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.92 and a twelve month high of $178.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $146.06 and its 200-day moving average is $134.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.21 and a beta of 1.14.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 20th. The company reported $6.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.60 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $6.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.63 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 61.01% and a net margin of 4.90%. AutoNation’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AutoNation Profile

(Free Report)

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.