Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. 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 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised Asbury Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America cut their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $257.20.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE ABG opened at $227.98 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $229.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $231.39. Asbury Automotive Group has a 12 month low of $195.09 and a 12 month high of $277.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.90 and a beta of 1.16.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $4.24 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group will post 25.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of the company’s 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.63, for a total transaction of $1,884,687.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,008,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,211,473.87. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 51.8% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the last quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the third quarter valued at about $450,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 6.5% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 22,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,197,000 after buying an additional 1,382 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $804,000.

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.