Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG Shares Purchased by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 14.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,656 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,632 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $18,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 69.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 64.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 104.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 466.7% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 442 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE ABG opened at $229.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.16 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $239.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $201.68 and a 52 week high of $306.46.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $6.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.70 by ($0.03). Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 2.73%.The firm had revenue of $4.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.26 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 target price on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Monday, December 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “reduce” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $247.57.

Asbury Automotive Group Profile

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.