Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Shares Pass Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $211.14 and traded as high as $216.60. Asbury Automotive Group shares last traded at $211.89, with a volume of 376,762 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $242.00 price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $220.00 target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup cut their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $212.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays raised their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $234.38.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $196.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.74.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $5.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.62 by ($0.25). Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.05% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.82 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 25.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Asbury Automotive Group

In other news, Director B. Christopher Disantis purchased 157 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $182.31 per share, with a total value of $28,622.67. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,166,784. The trade was a 2.51% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ABG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $77,963,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 106.5% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 296,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,842,000 after purchasing an additional 152,669 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the third quarter worth $32,684,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 49.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 278,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,561,000 after buying an additional 91,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. Goldman & Co LP acquired a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter worth $12,761,000.

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.