Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $256.20.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Craig Hallum upped their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Asbury Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $216.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price 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.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE ABG opened at $258.98 on Tuesday. Asbury Automotive Group has a 1 year low of $195.09 and a 1 year high of $277.13. The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.66 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $237.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $6.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.58 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 2.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ABG. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 2.4% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $506,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 94.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 38,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,220,000 after acquiring an additional 18,821 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $222,000. Castleark Management LLC bought a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the 3rd quarter worth $2,310,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 801,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,204,000 after buying an additional 3,672 shares in the last quarter.

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.