Advisors Preferred LLC Buys Shares of 11,816 AutoNation, Inc. $AN

Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 11,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,307,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in AutoNation by 37.4% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AutoNation in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the third quarter valued at $48,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AutoNation by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in AutoNation during the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AN. Northcoast Research raised shares of AutoNation from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $240.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AutoNation from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $208.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of AutoNation in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $234.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of AutoNation from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $245.73.

Insider Transactions at AutoNation

In other AutoNation news, CAO Kimberly Dees sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.91, for a total transaction of $512,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,348.96. The trade was a 63.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

AutoNation Stock Performance

NYSE:AN opened at $196.07 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $191.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $198.50. AutoNation, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $176.62 and a fifty-two week high of $228.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $4.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.71 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $6.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.65 billion. AutoNation had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 2.47%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.68 earnings per share. Analysts expect that AutoNation, Inc. will post 21.35 EPS for the current year.

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.