Stifel Financial Corp Buys 18,973 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 1,990.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,926 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,973 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.10% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $4,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ABG. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $804,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter valued at $760,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the 3rd quarter worth $1,223,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $154,270,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,393,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ABG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. 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 note on Monday, October 14th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $216.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Asbury Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $256.20.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock opened at $253.72 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $238.61. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a one year low of $195.09 and a one year high of $277.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36 and a beta of 1.18.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last issued its earnings results 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). Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 2.16%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.12 earnings per share. Asbury Automotive Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Asbury Automotive Group 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.