Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.23 EPS

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $6.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.58 by ($0.23), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.16% and a return on equity of 16.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.12 EPS.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABG traded up $1.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $229.41. The stock had a trading volume of 6,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 184,036. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $229.78 and a 200-day moving average of $231.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 1.16. Asbury Automotive Group has a 12-month low of $195.09 and a 12-month high of $277.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Craig Hallum increased their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens started coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $216.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $257.20.

Insider Transactions at Asbury Automotive Group

In other news, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,911,548.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Asbury Automotive Group news, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $453,211,473.87. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Asbury Automotive Group Company Profile

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.