JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Price Target to $265.00

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) had its price target upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $230.00 to $265.00 in a report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on ABG. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $225.25.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock opened at $212.93 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $238.20 and a 200 day moving average of $228.86. Asbury Automotive Group has a 12 month low of $178.40 and a 12 month high of $277.13.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $6.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.31 by ($0.91). Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The company had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group will post 27.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Asbury Automotive Group

In related news, 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 owns 2,008,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $453,211,473.87. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Asbury Automotive Group news, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was 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 directly owns 56,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,911,548.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 value of $1,884,687.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,008,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,211,473.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,319,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,771,000 after buying an additional 10,656 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 7.1% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Eminence Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 146,246 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth about $67,417,000. Finally, Brave Warrior Advisors LLC increased its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 278,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,624,000 after purchasing an additional 3,101 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.