Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 94,207 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,304 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $22,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the third quarter worth $31,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 34.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter worth about $155,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the second quarter valued at about $190,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ABG shares. Stephens started coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $216.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised Asbury Automotive Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley raised Asbury Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $256.20.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Up 1.3 %

Asbury Automotive Group stock opened at $247.04 on Thursday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $195.09 and a fifty-two week high of $277.13. The company has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a PE ratio of 13.98 and a beta of 1.18. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $249.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $239.15.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $6.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.58 by ($0.23). Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 2.16%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $8.12 EPS. Asbury Automotive Group’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

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.