Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at Bank of America

Equities research analysts at Bank of America started coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) in a report released on Wednesday. The firm set a “buy” rating on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on ABG. Barclays decreased their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “reduce” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Two investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $247.57.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock traded up $2.41 on Wednesday, hitting $213.85. 17,782 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 207,775. Asbury Automotive Group has a 52 week low of $201.68 and a 52 week high of $274.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $238.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 0.81.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $4.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.93 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 2.73%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.26 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Asbury Automotive Group

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the fourth quarter worth about $77,963,000. Eminence Capital LP grew its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 36.0% in the 2nd quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 1,002,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,055,000 after buying an additional 265,539 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 106.5% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 296,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,842,000 after acquiring an additional 152,669 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,684,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 261.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 159,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,025,000 after acquiring an additional 115,504 shares during the last quarter.

Asbury Automotive Group Company 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.