Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $250.5714.

ABG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $275.00 to $251.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 4th.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:ABG opened at $242.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.50 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $233.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $239.95. Asbury Automotive Group has a 52-week low of $201.68 and a 52-week high of $312.56.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $7.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.84 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 15.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.35 EPS. Analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.28 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Asbury Automotive Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 5.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 106,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,619,000 after buying an additional 5,468 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 116.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 10,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,572,000 after acquiring an additional 5,840 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 30.4% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,035,000 after acquiring an additional 1,989 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 44,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,529,000 after acquiring an additional 6,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the first quarter valued at $795,000.

Asbury Automotive Group Company Profile

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc (NYSE:ABG) is one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States. Headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, the company operates a network of franchised dealerships representing a diverse portfolio of automotive brands. Its core business activities include the sale of new and pre-owned vehicles, as well as the provision of vehicle finance, insurance and protection products to retail customers.

In addition to retail sales, Asbury offers a comprehensive suite of after-sales services, from scheduled maintenance and certified collision repair to parts distribution.