JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Price Target to $260.00

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $265.00 to $260.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.41% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on ABG. Bank of America decreased their target price on 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. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens started coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $216.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised Asbury Automotive Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Asbury Automotive Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $256.20.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of ABG stock traded up $5.08 on Tuesday, reaching $242.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 166,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 184,903. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $229.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $231.90. Asbury Automotive Group has a 1 year low of $195.09 and a 1 year high of $277.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 1.16.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.30 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.16% and a return on equity of 16.51%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.12 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group will post 25.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Asbury Automotive Group

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Asbury Automotive Group

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABG. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 2.9% in the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 3,931 shares of the company's stock worth $938,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the third quarter worth about $261,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 18.2% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 1,680 shares of the company's stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 51.8% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,520 shares of the company's stock worth $601,000 after buying an additional 860 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Strategies Group Inc. acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the third quarter worth about $450,000.

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.