Gurus Stock Up on AutoNation, Hormel Foods

Weekly GuruFocus highlight of top insider buys: AutoNation Inc. (AN), Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL)

Note: There will only be two companies this month...

AutoNation Inc. (AN): The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation bought 50,000 shares on 01/07/2009 at an average price of $9.65.

AutoNation Inc. is the one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States. The company owns and operates new vehicle franchises from dealership locations in major metropolitan markets in numerous states, predominantly in the Sunbelt states. Its business consists primarily of the sale financing and servicing of new and used vehicles. The company also provides other related services and products such as the sale of parts and accessories extended service contracts aftermarket automotive products and collision repair services. AutoNation Inc. has a market cap of $1.88 billion; its shares were traded at around $9.65 with a P/E ratio of 9.17 and P/S ratio of 0.11. AutoNation Inc. had an annual average earning growth of 17.6% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated AutoNation Inc.

On January 9th, AutoNation Inc. announced that it would release its fourth-quarter and yearly financial results on Thursday, January 29th. As of the third quarter of 2008, AutoNation Inc. had a total revenue of $3.5 billion, compared to the $4.5 billion of the year before. Mike Jackson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "The third quarter was negatively impacted by the credit crisis that escalated in September into a full blown credit panic.”

AutoNation Inc. is owned by 3 Gurus. As of 9/30/08, Edward Lampert owns 77,763,550 shares, which accounts for 7.57% of the $11.55 billion portfolio of ESL Investments. HOTCHKIS & WILEY owns 14,396,700 shares, which is for 1.08% of the $15.02 billion portfolio of HOTCHKIS & WILEY Capital Management LLC. Bruce Sherman owns 5,719,784 shares, which makes up 1.29% of the $4.99 billion portfolio of Private Capital Management. In the same quarter, Chris Davis sold out his holdings.

Hormel Foods Corp: Senior VP & CFO, Director of Hormel Foods Corp., Jody H Feragen bought 1,200 shares of HRL stock on 01/05/2009 at an average price of $30.41.

Hormel Foods Corporation is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer-branded meat and food products, many of which are among the best known and trusted in the food industry. Products manufactured by the corporation include hams, bacon, sausages, franks, canned luncheon meats, stews, chilies, hash, meat spreads, shelf-stable, microwaveable entrees, salsas, and frozen processed foods. These selections are sold to retail foodservice and wholesale operations under many well-established trademarks. Hormel Foods Corp. has a market cap of $4.24 billion; its shares were traded at around $30.41 with a P/E ratio of 15.17 and P/S ratio of 0.63. The dividend yield of Hormel Foods Corp. stocks is 2.35%. Hormel Foods Corp. had an annual average earning growth of 11.6% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Hormel Foods Corp.

Hormel Foods Corp. recently released its fourth-quarter and yearly financials for 2008. The company had an annual total revenue of $6,754,903 thousand, compared to the $6,193,032 thousand of 2007.

Hormel Foods Corp. is owned by 2 Gurus. Kenneth Fisher owns 21,100 shares as of 09/30/2008, which accounts for less than 0.01% of the $31.63 billion portfolio of Fisher Asset Management, LLC. David Dreman owns 167,150 shares, a decrease of 28.81% of from the previous quarter. This position accounts for 0.06% of the $10.85 billion portfolio of Dreman Value Management.