Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Raised to “Equal Weight” at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. Morgan Stanley currently has $240.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of $190.00.

ABG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Stephens started coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $216.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Asbury Automotive Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $237.75.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of ABG stock opened at $244.35 on Wednesday. Asbury Automotive Group has a 52 week low of $178.40 and a 52 week high of $277.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.90 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $235.01 and its 200-day moving average is $230.21.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $6.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.31 by ($0.91). The company had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 2.51%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.95 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Asbury Automotive Group news, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $453,211,473.87. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 56,834 shares in the company, valued at $12,911,548.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 2,008,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,211,473.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Asbury Automotive Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Eminence Capital LP lifted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 41.5% in the 2nd quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 498,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,603,000 after acquiring an additional 146,246 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 7.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,056,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,818,000 after purchasing an additional 69,975 shares in the last quarter. Khrom Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the second quarter worth $14,572,000. GCM Grosvenor Holdings LLC grew its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 250.8% in the second quarter. GCM Grosvenor Holdings LLC now owns 73,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,635,000 after purchasing an additional 52,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE grew its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 107.7% in the second quarter. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE now owns 47,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,811,000 after purchasing an additional 24,603 shares in 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.