Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 169,921 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 6% from the previous session’s volume of 180,597 shares.The stock last traded at $221.98 and had previously closed at $222.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ABG shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Asbury Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $190.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com cut Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Stephens began coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $216.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Asbury Automotive Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $251.20.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of 8.43 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $229.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.30.

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 the consensus estimate of $7.31 by ($0.91). Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 2.51%. The firm had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.95 EPS. Asbury Automotive Group’s revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Asbury Automotive Group

In other Asbury Automotive Group news, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Asbury Automotive Group 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 approximately $453,211,473.87. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 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. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 9.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 1st quarter worth $895,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 42.1% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,100,000 after buying an additional 7,667 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 20,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,768,000 after buying an additional 4,224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 379.6% in the first quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,367,000 after buying an additional 4,589 shares during 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.