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

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $232.00.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $220.00 target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $242.00 price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

ABG stock opened at $190.95 on Friday. Asbury Automotive Group has a 1 year low of $172.01 and a 1 year high of $274.50. The company has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.76, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $195.77 and a 200 day moving average of $216.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $5.37 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $4.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.82 earnings per share. Asbury Automotive Group’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group will post 25.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Asbury Automotive Group

In other news, Director B. Christopher Disantis purchased 157 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $182.31 per share, with a total value of $28,622.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,166,784. The trade was a 2.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Asbury Automotive Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1,570.2% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,113,000 after acquiring an additional 8,542 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 115,504 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,104,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,906,000 after acquiring an additional 5,757 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 14.4% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 76,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,739,000 after acquiring an additional 9,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 52.2% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 53,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,194,000 after acquiring an additional 18,507 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.