Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Short Interest Update

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,760,000 shares, a decline of 12.9% from the January 15th total of 2,020,000 shares. Currently, 9.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 184,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Craig Hallum upgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Stephens boosted their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $264.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Asbury Automotive Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Creative Planning raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 5.1% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 4,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $985,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $154,270,000. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 17.7% during the third quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 10,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,584,000 after purchasing an additional 1,627 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 5.1% during the third quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 13,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,170,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 366.1% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 189,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,233,000 after purchasing an additional 148,910 shares in the last quarter.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of ABG stock traded down $2.87 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $300.50. The company had a trading volume of 117,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 205,815. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $262.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $246.58. Asbury Automotive Group has a one year low of $202.98 and a one year high of $312.56.

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.