Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Takes Position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 6,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,637,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,383,000 after buying an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 49.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 278,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,561,000 after acquiring an additional 91,767 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the first quarter worth about $265,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 11.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,687,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 3.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 51,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676 shares during the period.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of ABG stock opened at $245.58 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $234.64 and its 200-day moving average is $240.19. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a PE ratio of 8.61 and a beta of 0.82. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $201.68 and a 52 week high of $312.56.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 target price on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Monday, December 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $275.00 to $251.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.57.

Asbury Automotive Group Profile

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.