Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)’s share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $211.14 and traded as high as $216.60. Asbury Automotive Group shares last traded at $211.89, with a volume of 376,762 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $212.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $220.00 target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $202.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $234.38.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Up 0.1%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $196.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.14. The company has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a PE ratio of 7.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $5.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.62 by ($0.25). Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.05% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 25.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Asbury Automotive Group

In other news, Director B. Christopher Disantis bought 157 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $182.31 per share, for a total transaction of $28,622.67. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 6,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,166,784. This trade represents a 2.51% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Asbury Automotive Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,965,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 107.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 534 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 237.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 54.6% during the first quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 6,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 2,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 10.2% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 53,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,409,000 after acquiring an additional 4,936 shares in the last quarter.

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.