Bank of America Lowers Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Price Target to $305.00

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) had its price objective decreased by stock analysts at Bank of America from $310.00 to $305.00 in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 36.19% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley raised Asbury Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. 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 objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $251.20.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock traded up $0.82 on Monday, hitting $223.95. The stock had a trading volume of 31,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 181,531. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $230.07 and a 200 day moving average of $231.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.16 and a beta of 1.16. Asbury Automotive Group has a twelve month low of $178.40 and a twelve month high of $277.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $6.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.31 by ($0.91). The company had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.01 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 company’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,008,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,211,473.87. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of Asbury Automotive Group 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 directly owns 56,834 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,319,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,771,000 after buying an additional 10,656 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 147.1% during the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 18,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,063,000 after purchasing an additional 10,737 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group in the 4th quarter worth about $162,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $238,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $319,000.

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.