Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG Shares Bought by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 13,382.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 21,032 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,876 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $4,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $77,963,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 106.5% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 296,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,842,000 after purchasing an additional 152,669 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,684,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 278,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,561,000 after buying an additional 91,767 shares during the period. Finally, J. Goldman & Co LP acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth $12,761,000.

Insider Activity at Asbury Automotive Group

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABG has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays cut their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $242.00 price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Citigroup dropped their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $212.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $202.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $233.12.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABG opened at $220.40 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $198.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $210.39. The company has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.80, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.94. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a one year low of $172.01 and a one year high of $263.38.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $5.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.62 by ($0.25). Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 3.05%.The company had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 25.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Asbury Automotive Group 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.