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

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $255.20.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ABG shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABG. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the second quarter worth about $212,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 3.8% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 25,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,884,000 after acquiring an additional 945 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 5.2% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 44,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,113,000 after acquiring an additional 2,205 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 8.3% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 75.1% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 4,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $967,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802 shares during the period.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of ABG stock opened at $273.11 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Asbury Automotive Group has a 52 week low of $195.09 and a 52 week high of $277.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $252.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $242.29.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $6.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.58 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 2.16%. Asbury Automotive Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.12 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group will post 25.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.