Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Rating Lowered to "Equal Weight" at Stephens

Key Points

• Stephens downgraded Asbury Automotive Group from “overweight” to “equal weight,” keeping a $200 price target—about 0.01% below the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with a consensus “hold” rating and average target of $217.62; two analysts rate the stock Buy, six Hold, and two Sell.
• Asbury missed quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $6.16 versus $6.42 expected and revenue of $4.41 billion versus $4.51 billion; revenue fell 8.1% year over year, and shares traded down 3.8%.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Stephens from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens's target price points to a potential downside of 0.01% from the company's previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Seaport Research Partners upgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $190.00 to $185.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Asbury Automotive Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $217.62.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Down 3.8%

NYSE ABG opened at $200.01 on Friday. Asbury Automotive Group has a 52 week low of $160.30 and a 52 week high of $258.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $187.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $202.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 7.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.78.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.42 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $4.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.51 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.66% and a return on equity of 11.85%. Asbury Automotive Group's revenue for the quarter was down 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group will post 24.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Asbury Automotive Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $593,499,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 3.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,156,426 shares of the company's stock valued at $225,977,000 after purchasing an additional 34,104 shares during the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP acquired a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group in the third quarter valued at $65,167,000. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter valued at $60,592,000. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter valued at $35,919,000.

About Asbury Automotive Group

Asbury Automotive Group is a U.S. automotive retailer that operates franchised new- and used-vehicle dealerships. Its dealerships sell vehicles from a range of manufacturers and offer related services, including vehicle financing and insurance products, maintenance and repairs, parts sales, and collision repair. The company also operates Clicklane, a digital platform that lets customers research, purchase, finance, and arrange delivery of vehicles online. Asbury was founded in 1995 and has expanded through acquisitions, including its 2021 purchase of Larry H. Miller Dealerships.

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