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

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $250.4286.

ABG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $251.00 to $250.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ABG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $77,544,000. Eminence Capital LP grew its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 36.0% in the second quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 1,002,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,055,000 after acquiring an additional 265,539 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the third quarter valued at about $32,684,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 545.7% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 143,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,051,000 after purchasing an additional 121,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 261.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 159,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,025,000 after purchasing an additional 115,504 shares in the last quarter.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of ABG opened at $234.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $240.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.19. Asbury Automotive Group has a 1-year low of $201.68 and a 1-year high of $309.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

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.