Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Receives $246.71 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $246.7143.

A number of equities analysts have commented on ABG shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $190.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $242.00 price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE:ABG opened at $210.91 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 7.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s 50 day moving average is $212.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $205.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Asbury Automotive Group has a 52 week low of $172.01 and a 52 week high of $263.38.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.31 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.49 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 2.83%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.43 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Asbury Automotive Group news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 948 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.28, for a total value of $237,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,817,902.52. The trade was a 7.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 19,410.7% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,302,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $865,108,000 after buying an additional 4,280,257 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $593,499,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth $77,963,000. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the 2nd quarter worth $60,592,000. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the 2nd quarter worth $35,919,000.

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.