Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $255.20.

Several research firms have commented on ABG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Craig Hallum boosted their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ABG opened at $260.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $251.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $241.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Asbury Automotive Group has a 12-month low of $195.09 and a 12-month high of $277.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76 and a beta of 1.19.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $6.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.58 by ($0.23). Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.16% and a return on equity of 16.51%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $8.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group will post 25.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Asbury Automotive Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABG. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $804,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,223,000. Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $484,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $154,270,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the third quarter worth about $2,393,000.

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.