Natixis Advisors LLC Has $46.20 Million Stock Position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 188,977 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,018 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $46,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 69.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 64.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 104.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 466.7% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 442 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 17.8% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “reduce” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research cut Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Asbury Automotive Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $247.57.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock opened at $203.87 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $237.35. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $195.17 and a 1 year high of $274.50. The company has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.13 and a beta of 0.81.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $6.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.70 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $4.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.93 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 14.51%. Asbury Automotive Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.26 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current year.

Asbury Automotive Group 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.