Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $256.20.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $216.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of ABG opened at $243.03 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $250.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $239.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Asbury Automotive Group has a one year low of $195.09 and a one year high of $277.13. The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75 and a beta of 1.18.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $6.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.58 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 2.16%. Asbury Automotive Group’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.12 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ABG. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 94.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 38,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,220,000 after acquiring an additional 18,821 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC bought a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Castleark Management LLC acquired a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,310,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 801,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,672 shares during 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.