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

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $233.1250.

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $220.00 target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $202.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings cut Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $212.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th.

Insider Activity at Asbury Automotive Group

In related news, Director B. Christopher Disantis purchased 157 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $182.31 per share, with a total value of $28,622.67. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,166,784. The trade was a 2.51% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $77,963,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 106.5% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 296,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,842,000 after buying an additional 152,669 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,684,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 49.1% in the first 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 position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,761,000.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:ABG opened at $224.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $200.80 and a 200-day moving average of $209.84. Asbury Automotive Group has a one year low of $172.01 and a one year high of $263.38.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $5.37 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.82 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.26 earnings per share for the current year.

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.