Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG Shares Bought by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,104,168 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,757 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 5.68% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $269,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABG. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 69.2% in 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. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 64.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 104.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 466.7% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 442 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock opened at $205.21 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $232.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $237.67. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $197.51 and a twelve month high of $274.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.18 and a beta of 0.81.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $6.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.70 by ($0.03). The firm 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%.The business’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.26 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ABG. Barclays cut their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “reduce” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Asbury Automotive Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Bank of America assumed coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 target price on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $247.57.

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.