Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Stock Rating Lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) was downgraded by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $225.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $235.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target suggests a potential downside of 2.03% from the company’s current price.

ABG has been the topic of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $236.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $259.33.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

ABG opened at $229.67 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $239.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $245.01. Asbury Automotive Group has a 1-year low of $201.68 and a 1-year high of $312.56. The company has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.96.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $6.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.84 by ($0.02). Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 2.42%. The business had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.21 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the first quarter worth about $262,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 13.7% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 14,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,279,000 after buying an additional 1,787 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 39.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 586 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. GoodHaven Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter worth about $2,916,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the first quarter worth about $1,111,000.

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.