Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Price Target Cut to $305.00

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $310.00 to $305.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 35.06% from the company’s current price.

ABG has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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 Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Stephens initiated 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 target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $251.20.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of ABG stock opened at $225.83 on Monday. Asbury Automotive Group has a fifty-two week low of $178.40 and a fifty-two week high of $277.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $229.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.13. 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 cap of $4.56 billion, a PE ratio of 8.23 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.31 by ($0.91). The company had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.95 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,008,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $453,211,473.87. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.63, for a total transaction of $1,884,687.39. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,008,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $453,211,473.87. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $113,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Oak Associates Ltd. OH lifted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Oak Associates Ltd. OH now owns 3,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $831,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,588,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 24,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,819,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 3,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $690,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter.

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.