Boothbay Fund Management LLC Increases Position in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

Boothbay Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN - Free Report) by 77.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,437 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,927 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC owned about 0.19% of AutoNation worth $12,812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AN. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AutoNation by 581.8% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 150 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its position in AutoNation by 150.8% in the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 158 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AutoNation by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 315 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AutoNation by 77.1% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 494 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in shares of AutoNation by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 964 shares of the company's stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.62% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AN has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens increased their price objective on AutoNation from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AutoNation from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of AutoNation from $212.00 to $183.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of AutoNation to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AutoNation currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $200.75.

AutoNation Price Performance

NYSE:AN traded up $2.51 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $174.22. The stock had a trading volume of 577,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 456,130. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.15. AutoNation, Inc. has a one year low of $148.33 and a one year high of $198.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $4.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by $0.33. AutoNation had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.59%. The business had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.49 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that AutoNation, Inc. will post 18.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.