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

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $244.1429.

ABG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $212.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. UBS Group set a $250.00 price objective on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley set a $220.00 target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Asbury Automotive Group

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ABG. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the second quarter worth approximately $1,965,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 107.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 237.8% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 54.6% in the first quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 6,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 10.2% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 53,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,409,000 after acquiring an additional 4,936 shares during the period.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Down 5.7%

Shares of NYSE ABG opened at $234.18 on Friday. Asbury Automotive Group has a twelve month low of $172.01 and a twelve month high of $263.38. The firm has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a PE ratio of 8.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $209.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.31 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.49 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 12.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.43 EPS. Analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.