Bank of America Begins Coverage on Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG)

Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday. The firm set a “buy” rating on the stock.

ABG has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “reduce” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 target price on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Monday, December 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Asbury Automotive Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $247.57.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE:ABG opened at $207.75 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. Asbury Automotive Group has a 1-year low of $201.68 and a 1-year high of $274.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.28 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $233.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $237.92.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $6.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.70 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $4.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.93 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 2.73%.Asbury Automotive Group’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ABG. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 319.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 52.4% during the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 69.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter.

About Asbury Automotive Group

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.