Black Bear Value Partners, an investment management firm, published its first quarter 2024 investor letter, a copy of which can be downloaded here. Black Bear Value Fund returned +3.4% in March and is up +4.6% YTD and the S&P 500 returned +3.2% in March and +10.6% YTD. HFRI Value Index returned +2.9% in March and +4.6 YTD. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
Black Bear Value Partners featured stocks AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) operates as an automotive retailer. On April 9, 2024, AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) stock closed at $160.27 per share. One-month return of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) was 4.07%, and its shares gained 21.60% of their value over the last 52 weeks. AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) has a market capitalization of $6.681 billion.
Black Bear Value Partners stated the following regarding AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“We have owned AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) and Penske Automotive in the past but decided to consolidate our auto dealer investments solely into Asbury Automotive (ABG). AutoNation had gone thought a management transition and I wanted to see how the new team managed the business. They have done an excellent job and exceeded my expectations when it comes to capital allocation. As the stock looked very cheap, they bought 62% of the company coming out of COVID. As far as Penske is concerned, I think I made a mistake selling it as I undervalued a “hidden” asset in the Company that became more obvious over time. Asbury has taken on acquisitions and while the Company has done a good job, I would prefer to see how they manage the integration from the sidelines. We appreciate their stewardship and would consider buying back the stock later.
AutoNation operates auto dealerships across the United States. While much attention is paid to the number of cars sold, the strength of the model comes from the back of the house in parts and services where more than 50% of the profits come from. We are exiting a period of high margins on new and used car sales. While profits per car are at all-time highs, the volumes sold have mirrored prior recessions. My expectation is that dealers will likely make less per car but will mitigate some of that pressure by selling more cars, especially used vehicles, as prices drop…” (Click here to read the full text)
A busy auto dealership lot filled with numerous vehicles for sale.
AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. At the end of the fourth quarter, AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) was held by 34 hedge fund portfolios, compared to 38 in the previous quarter, according to our database.
We discussed AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) in another article and shared the list of most undervalued retail stocks to buy. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
