Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Upgraded to “Hold” at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

ABG has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $220.00 target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $212.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $233.50.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

ABG stock opened at $195.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $195.90 and a 200-day moving average of $218.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Asbury Automotive Group has a 12 month low of $172.01 and a 12 month high of $274.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.78.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $5.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.62 by ($0.25). Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.05% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The firm had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.82 earnings per share. Asbury Automotive Group’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group will post 25.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Asbury Automotive Group

In other Asbury Automotive Group news, Director B. Christopher Disantis purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $202.30 per share, with a total value of $101,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 5,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,092,420. The trade was a 10.20% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Abrams Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,155,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,910,000 after acquiring an additional 46,952 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 3.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,156,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,977,000 after buying an additional 34,104 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 781,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,659,000 after buying an additional 9,535 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the fourth quarter worth $77,963,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 106.5% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 296,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,842,000 after buying an additional 152,669 shares during the period.

About Asbury Automotive Group

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc (NYSE:ABG) is one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States. Headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, the company operates a network of franchised dealerships representing a diverse portfolio of automotive brands. Its core business activities include the sale of new and pre-owned vehicles, as well as the provision of vehicle finance, insurance and protection products to retail customers.

In addition to retail sales, Asbury offers a comprehensive suite of after-sales services, from scheduled maintenance and certified collision repair to parts distribution.