Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Stock Price Target Lowered at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan lowered Asbury Automotive Group’s price target from $190 to $185 and maintained an “underweight” rating, implying roughly 10% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst views remain mixed, with ratings ranging from “reduce” to “buy”; the consensus is “Hold” with an average price target of $223.50.
• ABG shares fell to $168.21, near their 52-week low, despite the company reporting quarterly EPS of $6.82—beating estimates of $6.31—on $4.38 billion in revenue.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $190.00 to $185.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "underweight" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price indicates a potential upside of 9.98% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on ABG. UBS Group set a $250.00 price objective on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup raised their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays reissued a "reduce" rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday. Seaport Research Partners upgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $184.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Asbury Automotive Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $223.50.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

NYSE ABG traded down $3.62 on Tuesday, hitting $168.21. 122,276 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 247,137. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Asbury Automotive Group has a 1-year low of $167.30 and a 1-year high of $258.74. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $205.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $201.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 6.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.78.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.31 by $0.51. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 12.72%. The firm had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Asbury Automotive Group

In other news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 948 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.28, for a total transaction of $237,265.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,817,902.52. The trade was a 7.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter worth about $593,499,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,156,426 shares of the company's stock worth $225,977,000 after purchasing an additional 34,104 shares in the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,592,000. Magnolia Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Magnolia Group LLC now owns 288,004 shares of the company's stock worth $56,279,000 after purchasing an additional 8,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 211,054 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,076,000 after purchasing an additional 10,892 shares in the last quarter.

Asbury Automotive Group Company Profile

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc is a U.S.-based automotive retailer that operates franchised dealerships representing a range of domestic and international vehicle manufacturers. The company sells new and used cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles, and provides related financing and insurance products.

In addition to vehicle sales, Asbury's dealerships offer automotive maintenance and repair, replacement parts, collision repair and other after-sales services. The company also operates Clicklane, a digital retail platform designed to support online vehicle purchasing, financing and trade-ins.

Headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, Asbury serves customers through dealership locations across multiple U.S.

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