Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Receives $256.20 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the five ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $256.20.

ABG has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Craig Hallum upped their target price 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. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $216.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.63, for a total transaction of $1,884,687.39. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,008,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $453,211,473.87. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Asbury Automotive Group news, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.18, for a total transaction of $113,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 56,834 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,911,548.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.63, for a total transaction of $1,884,687.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,008,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at $453,211,473.87. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ABG. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 20,221 shares of the company's stock worth $4,768,000 after buying an additional 4,224 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 1.3% in the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 18,009 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,246,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 126.4% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 11,047 shares of the company's stock worth $2,605,000 after purchasing an additional 6,167 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,068 shares of the company's stock worth $959,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $842,000.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Asbury Automotive Group stock traded up $0.64 during trading on Friday, reaching $260.53. The company had a trading volume of 161,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 185,579. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $230.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.47. 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 1-year low of $195.09 and a 1-year high of $277.13.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $6.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.58 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group will post 25.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Asbury Automotive Group

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.