Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Stock Price Breaks Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $203.78 and traded as high as $210.61. Asbury Automotive Group shares last traded at $209.5860, with a volume of 378,786 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ABG. Barclays lowered their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Zacks Research cut Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Seaport Research Partners upgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $193.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $220.88.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.36, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $188.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $203.78.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.42 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.51 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.66% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The firm’s revenue was down 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.17 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 24.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Asbury Automotive Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 2nd quarter worth $593,499,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,156,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,977,000 after buying an additional 34,104 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $65,167,000. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $60,592,000. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,919,000.

Asbury Automotive Group Company Profile

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc is a U.S.-based automotive retailer that operates franchised and independent dealerships. Its dealerships sell new and used vehicles from a range of domestic, import and luxury automobile brands, and provide related services throughout the vehicle ownership cycle.

The company’s operations include automotive repair and maintenance, parts and accessories, collision repair, vehicle financing and insurance products, and other dealership services. Asbury also supports vehicle sales and service through digital retailing and online customer tools.

Founded in 1995, Asbury has expanded through acquisitions and serves customers across multiple markets in the United States.