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

Key Points

• Asbury Automotive Group has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from seven research firms, with an average 1-year target price of $253.00.
• Recent target price adjustments include JPMorgan Chase lowering theirs from $225.00 to $215.00, while Bank of America raised its target from $325.00 to $335.00.
• The company's latest quarterly earnings report showed $7.43 earnings per share, exceeding estimates, despite revenue of $4.37 billion falling short of expectations.

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $253.00.

Several brokerages have recently commented on ABG. Cfra set a $225.00 target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Asbury Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup began coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $236.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Asbury Automotive Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,108,176 shares of the company's stock valued at $269,322,000 after buying an additional 9,688 shares during the period. Eminence Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 787,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $191,453,000 after purchasing an additional 107,317 shares during the period. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL increased its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.7% in the first quarter. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL now owns 713,158 shares of the company's stock worth $157,494,000 after buying an additional 5,284 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 472,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,717,000 after acquiring an additional 3,437 shares during the period. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 10.1% during the first quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 373,320 shares of the company's stock worth $82,444,000 after purchasing an additional 34,160 shares during the period.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ABG opened at $221.87 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day moving average of $238.95 and a 200-day moving average of $243.36. Asbury Automotive Group has a twelve month low of $201.68 and a twelve month high of $312.56.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $7.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $4.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.44 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 15.41%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.40 EPS. Analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Asbury Automotive Group Company Profile

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.

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