Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $258.50.

A number of research analysts have commented on ABG shares. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Craig Hallum downgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $236.00 target price on the stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABG. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 94.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 38,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,220,000 after buying an additional 18,821 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 839 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $862,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth $221,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the last quarter.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Asbury Automotive Group stock opened at $225.27 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $225.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $248.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Asbury Automotive Group has a 12-month low of $201.68 and a 12-month high of $312.56.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $6.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.84 by ($0.02). Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The company had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.21 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.28 EPS for the current year.

About Asbury Automotive Group

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. It offers a range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles; and vehicle repair and maintenance services, replacement parts, and collision repair services.