Nuveen Asset Management LLC Purchases 1,897 Shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 241,513 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,897 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.61% of AutoNation worth $41,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 2,229.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 75,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,781,000 after acquiring an additional 72,023 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in AutoNation by 122.7% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 14,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,400,000 after purchasing an additional 7,788 shares during the period. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in AutoNation in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,671,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of AutoNation in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,265,000. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of AutoNation by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 83,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,154,000 after buying an additional 19,890 shares in the last quarter. 94.62% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AutoNation Price Performance

AN stock opened at $187.17 on Wednesday. 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 50 day moving average price of $171.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.97. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.33 and a 52-week high of $198.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.05, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.00.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.35 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.53 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.59%. AutoNation’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. 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. Stephens increased their target price on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $212.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of AutoNation to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.75.

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.