5,410 Shares in AutoNation, Inc. $AN Bought by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,184,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC lifted its stake in AutoNation by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 21,933 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,239,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in AutoNation by 1.1% in the second quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in AutoNation by 37.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AutoNation by 0.9% in the second quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Trading Down 1.3%

AN stock opened at $206.49 on Friday. AutoNation, Inc. has a 52 week low of $148.33 and a 52 week high of $228.92. The company has a market capitalization of $7.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $204.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.79.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $5.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.16. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.38% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The firm had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.02 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoNation declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Friday, October 31st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 13.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut AutoNation from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of AutoNation from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $255.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $244.00.

About AutoNation

AutoNation, Inc is the largest automotive retailer in the United States, operating a network of franchised new vehicle dealerships, pre-owned vehicle superstores and collision-repair centers. The company offers a comprehensive range of automotive products and services, including the sale of new cars and light trucks from leading manufacturers, certified pre-owned vehicles and a wide selection of used models. In addition to retail vehicle sales, AutoNation provides financing, insurance and extended service contracts through its in-house financial services division, as well as genuine and aftermarket parts, factory-recommended maintenance and collision-repair services.

Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, AutoNation was founded in 1996 by entrepreneur H.