Short Interest in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Declines By 6.5%

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,170,000 shares, a decline of 6.5% from the December 15th total of 2,320,000 shares. Currently, 11.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 176,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 12.3 days.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of ABG traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $244.72. 291,690 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 133,305. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 1.19. Asbury Automotive Group has a twelve month low of $195.09 and a twelve month high of $277.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $251.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $240.75.

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

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the second quarter worth $212,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the second quarter valued at about $760,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 3.8% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 25,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,884,000 after buying an additional 945 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 5.2% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 44,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,113,000 after buying an additional 2,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 8.3% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Craig Hallum raised their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $255.20.

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.