Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Takes $3.58 Million Position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 14,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,583,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 0.08% of Asbury Automotive Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,426,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,079,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,118,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 186,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,278,000 after acquiring an additional 29,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,316,000.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ABG opened at $224.99 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $249.06. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.68 and a 1 year high of $312.56. The company has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 0.98.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $6.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.84 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 16.29%. Asbury Automotive Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.21 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Daniel Clara sold 1,217 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.64, for a total transaction of $361,010.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 3,747 shares in the company, valued at $1,111,510.08. The trade was a 24.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ABG. Stephens increased their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $236.00 price target for the company. Craig Hallum downgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $258.50.

Asbury Automotive Group Profile

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. It offers a range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles; and vehicle repair and maintenance services, replacement parts, and collision repair services.