Highland Capital Management LLC Invests $216,000 in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 801,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,672 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 366.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 189,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,233,000 after acquiring an additional 148,910 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the third quarter worth about $26,573,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the third quarter worth approximately $154,270,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $14,219,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Craig Hallum raised their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.20.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Asbury Automotive Group stock opened at $296.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $254.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $243.28. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $195.09 and a 1 year high of $312.56.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $6.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.58 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 2.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.12 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Asbury Automotive Group Profile

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.