Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Receives $251.14 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $251.1429.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ABG. Zacks Research raised Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Friday. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock opened at $239.87 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.76, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $246.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.02. Asbury Automotive Group has a 52-week low of $201.68 and a 52-week high of $312.56.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $7.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.61. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 15.41%. The company had revenue of $4.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.40 earnings per share. Asbury Automotive Group’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Asbury Automotive Group

In related news, Director Maureen F. Morrison sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.61, for a total value of $204,488.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,824 shares in the company, valued at $1,488,672.64. This trade represents a 12.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Dean Calloway sold 400 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.40, for a total value of $101,760.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 5,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,347,048. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,957 shares of company stock valued at $745,501 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Asbury Automotive Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 4,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $900,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Choreo LLC lifted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 1.7% during the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 3,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 69.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 7.3% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $782,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period.

About Asbury Automotive Group

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.