Magnolia Group LLC Acquires 44,500 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Magnolia Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 18.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 282,623 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,500 shares during the period. Asbury Automotive Group accounts for approximately 11.0% of Magnolia Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Magnolia Group LLC owned approximately 1.44% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $69,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter valued at $77,544,000. Eminence Capital LP grew its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 36.0% during the 2nd quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 1,002,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,055,000 after acquiring an additional 265,539 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 122.0% during the 2nd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 199,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,413,000 after acquiring an additional 109,896 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 49.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 278,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,561,000 after acquiring an additional 91,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 122.5% in the second quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 50,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,148,000 after acquiring an additional 28,042 shares during the last quarter.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Down 1.9%

NYSE:ABG opened at $243.88 on Tuesday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $201.68 and a 1-year high of $312.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.55 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $236.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.08.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $7.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.80 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.84 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 15.26%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ABG. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Zacks Research lowered Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $275.00 to $251.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $250.57.

About Asbury Automotive Group

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.