Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Stock Price

Key Points

• Barclays cut its price target for Asbury Automotive Group from $265 to $230 while maintaining an “equal weight” rating, implying 36.13% upside from the stock’s $168.96 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: ABG has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $224.33, with recent target reductions from Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase.
• Asbury reported quarterly EPS of $6.82, beating estimates of $6.31, while revenue reached $4.38 billion—slightly below expectations—and the stock traded near its 52-week low.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at Barclays from $265.00 to $230.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Barclays's target price indicates a potential upside of 36.13% from the stock's current price.

ABG has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $184.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Citigroup raised their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group set a $250.00 target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $190.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Asbury Automotive Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $224.33.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE ABG opened at $168.96 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $205.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $201.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.31, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.78. Asbury Automotive Group has a 52 week low of $167.30 and a 52 week high of $258.74.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.82 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 business had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were sold at an average price of $250.28, for a total transaction of $237,265.44. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,817,902.52. This trade represents a 7.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABG. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $593,499,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,156,426 shares of the company's stock worth $225,977,000 after acquiring an additional 34,104 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $60,592,000. Magnolia Group LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $56,279,000 after acquiring an additional 8,731 shares during the period. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 211,054 shares of the company's stock worth $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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