Analysts Set Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) PT at $237.75

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $251.20.

Several analysts have weighed in on ABG shares. Morgan Stanley raised Asbury Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $190.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $216.00 price target for the company.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of ABG opened at $234.65 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 1.25. Asbury Automotive Group has a 1 year low of $178.40 and a 1 year high of $277.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $230.04 and a 200-day moving average of $231.19. The company has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.55 and a beta of 1.16.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $6.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.31 by ($0.91). The firm had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 17.93%. Asbury Automotive Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.95 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Asbury Automotive Group

In other news, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.18, for a total value of $113,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 56,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,911,548.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.18, for a total transaction of $113,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 56,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,911,548.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.63, for a total value of $1,884,687.39. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,008,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,211,473.87. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ABG. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 292 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $155,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the 4th quarter valued at $162,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter valued at $190,000.

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.