Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on ABG. Stephens raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $254.00.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

ABG opened at $222.87 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $241.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $238.66. Asbury Automotive Group has a 52-week low of $201.68 and a 52-week high of $312.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of 7.81, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.87.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $7.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.80 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.84 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 15.26% and a net margin of 3.15%.The business’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.35 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Asbury Automotive Group

In related news, Director Juanita T. James sold 625 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.10, for a total transaction of $152,562.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,673,305.50. The trade was a 8.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jed Milstein sold 1,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.26, for a total transaction of $286,690.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,853,480.42. This trade represents a 9.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 2,957 shares of company stock valued at $745,501 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Asbury Automotive Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABG. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 5.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 106,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,619,000 after buying an additional 5,468 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,037,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 68.6% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,573,000 after acquiring an additional 8,429 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $795,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 30.3% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,335,000 after acquiring an additional 1,302 shares in the last quarter.

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.