Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Hold" by the seven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $261.83.

ABG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $325.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $236.00 target price on the stock. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Craig Hallum lowered shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ABG. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 43.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the first quarter worth approximately $49,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 484 shares of the company's stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 234.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 501 shares of the company's stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock traded up $1.93 on Tuesday, reaching $228.18. 116,325 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 201,900. Asbury Automotive Group has a 1-year low of $201.68 and a 1-year high of $312.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $224.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $247.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 0.98.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $6.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.84 by ($0.02). Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 2.50%. The firm had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.21 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Asbury Automotive Group

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.