Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Stock Price Target Lowered at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley lowered Asbury Automotive Group’s price target from $230 to $184 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying roughly 4.7% upside from the prior close.
• ABG shares opened at $175.69, near their 52-week low of $169.02, and remain below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Analysts collectively maintain a “Hold” rating with a consensus target of $230.17.
• Asbury exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $6.82 versus the $6.31 consensus, though revenue of $4.38 billion fell short of the $4.49 billion estimate; an insider also sold $237,265 worth of shares.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $184.00 in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 4.73% from the stock's previous close.

ABG has been the topic of several other research reports. UBS Group set a $250.00 price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $190.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $230.17.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of ABG opened at $175.69 on Monday. Asbury Automotive Group has a 52-week low of $169.02 and a 52-week high of $258.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $206.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.10. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 6.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Insider Transactions at Asbury Automotive Group

In related news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 948 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.28, for a total transaction of $237,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,817,902.52. This trade represents a 7.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $593,499,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position 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 valued at $225,977,000 after buying an additional 34,104 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $60,592,000. Magnolia Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 3.1% in the first quarter. Magnolia Group LLC now owns 288,004 shares of the company's stock worth $56,279,000 after acquiring an additional 8,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC grew its stake 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 worth $49,076,000 after acquiring an additional 10,892 shares in the last quarter.

About Asbury Automotive Group

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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