Farther Finance Advisors LLC Purchases 215 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 77.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 494 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in AutoNation were worth $84,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AN. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AutoNation by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,026,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of AutoNation during the 3rd quarter worth about $219,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 16,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,898,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 14,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,532,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 11,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,999,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:AN opened at $167.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.32. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $150.08 and a 52 week high of $198.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $180.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.52.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AN. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AutoNation from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.71.

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.