Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $264.00.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ABG. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Craig Hallum lowered Asbury Automotive Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of ABG stock traded up $4.02 on Thursday, hitting $231.04. 282,700 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 178,898. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.20. Asbury Automotive Group has a twelve month low of $206.62 and a twelve month high of $312.56. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $268.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $250.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.54 billion, a PE ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 1.22.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Daniel Clara sold 1,217 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.64, for a total transaction of $361,010.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 3,747 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,111,510.08. This trade represents a 24.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter worth about $82,426,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the 4th quarter valued at $82,079,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter worth $51,118,000. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the third quarter worth about $26,573,000. Finally, Eminence Capital LP boosted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 787,775 shares of the company's stock worth $191,453,000 after buying an additional 107,317 shares during the last quarter.

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.