B. Christopher Disantis Purchases 157 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Stock

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Director B. Christopher Disantis bought 157 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $182.31 per share, with a total value of $28,622.67. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 6,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,166,784. The trade was a 2.51% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

B. Christopher Disantis also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, March 10th, B. Christopher Disantis bought 500 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $202.30 per share, with a total value of $101,150.00.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE ABG opened at $187.70 on Friday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $172.01 and a 12 month high of $274.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $196.03 and a 200-day moving average of $219.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.78.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last posted 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 company had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 25.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Abrams Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,155,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,910,000 after purchasing an additional 46,952 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,156,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,977,000 after purchasing an additional 34,104 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 781,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,659,000 after purchasing an additional 9,535 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth about $77,963,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 152,669 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ABG shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $277.00 to $254.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.00.

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.