First Hawaiian Bank Makes New $263,000 Investment in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN)

First Hawaiian Bank purchased a new stake in AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $263,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of AutoNation during the 1st quarter worth about $170,270,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in AutoNation during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,748,000. Eminence Capital LP grew its stake in AutoNation by 84.4% in the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 261,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,338,000 after acquiring an additional 119,866 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in AutoNation by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 342,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,491,000 after acquiring an additional 109,571 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in AutoNation in the 4th quarter valued at $9,247,000. 94.62% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other AutoNation news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total value of $4,083,789.87. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,980,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $685,794,659.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 53,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.45, for a total transaction of $10,361,568.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,825,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $740,108,361.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Edward S. Lampert sold 23,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.29, for a total transaction of $4,083,789.87. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,980,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $685,794,659.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 177,265 shares of company stock valued at $32,066,359. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim raised their price objective on AutoNation from $169.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on AutoNation from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on AutoNation from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of AutoNation from $164.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of AutoNation from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.71.

AutoNation Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of AutoNation stock traded up $1.70 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $167.76. The stock had a trading volume of 183,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 435,623. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.21. AutoNation, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.81 and a 1 year high of $197.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.26.

AutoNation (NYSE:AN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.31 by ($0.32). The business had revenue of $6.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.72 billion. AutoNation had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 36.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.29 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AutoNation, Inc. will post 17.88 earnings per share for the current year.

AutoNation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, April 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 14.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.