LSV Asset Management Reduces Stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

LSV Asset Management trimmed its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 26.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL raised its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL now owns 713,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,494,000 after buying an additional 5,284 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 0.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 472,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,717,000 after acquiring an additional 3,437 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 91,767 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 6.0% in the second quarter. Magnolia Group LLC now owns 238,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,802,000 after purchasing an additional 13,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1.1% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 213,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,259,000 after purchasing an additional 2,230 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maureen F. Morrison sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.61, for a total transaction of $204,488.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,824 shares in the company, valued at $1,488,672.64. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ABG shares. Zacks Research downgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Asbury Automotive Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $254.00.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Up 5.9%

NYSE ABG opened at $223.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.87. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.68 and a 12 month high of $312.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $237.17 and a 200-day moving average of $238.59.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $7.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.37. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 15.26%. The business had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.35 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Asbury Automotive Group Company 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.