Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Stock Jumps 6.9% – What’s Next?

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)’s stock price traded up 6.9% during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $174.09 and last traded at $173.0990. 55,033 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 247,451 shares. The stock had previously closed at $161.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Barclays reissued a “reduce” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Citigroup upped their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $250.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.00.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $196.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $200.74. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 6.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.31 by $0.51. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 2.83%. The business had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 25.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Asbury Automotive Group

In related news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 948 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.28, for a total value of $237,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,817,902.52. This represents a 7.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $593,499,000. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the 2nd quarter worth $60,592,000. Lakewood Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the second quarter worth about $35,919,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,142,000. Finally, Robotti Robert purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $17,537,000.

Asbury Automotive Group Company Profile

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc is a U.S.-based automotive retailer that operates franchised dealerships representing a range of domestic and international vehicle manufacturers. The company sells new and used cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles, and provides related financing and insurance products.

In addition to vehicle sales, Asbury’s dealerships offer automotive maintenance and repair, replacement parts, collision repair and other after-sales services. The company also operates Clicklane, a digital retail platform designed to support online vehicle purchasing, financing and trade-ins.

Headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, Asbury serves customers through dealership locations across multiple U.S.