Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Downgraded to "Hold" Rating by Seaport Res Ptn

Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday,Zacks.com reports. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Asbury Automotive Group's FY2024 earnings at $26.14 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $25.45 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on ABG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $216.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $256.20.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Up 2.4 %

ABG stock traded up $6.23 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $264.89. The company had a trading volume of 155,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 185,293. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $231.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $233.52. Asbury Automotive Group has a 52 week low of $195.09 and a 52 week 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 stock has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 1.16.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $6.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.58 by ($0.23). The firm 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%. Asbury Automotive Group's revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group will post 25.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Asbury Automotive Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 11.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,068 shares of the company's stock valued at $959,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $842,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 19,467 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,590,000 after purchasing an additional 2,591 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 7.4% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 4,173 shares of the company's stock worth $984,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 15.7% in the first quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 7,335 shares of the company's stock worth $1,729,000 after buying an additional 995 shares in the last quarter.

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.