Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Lowered to "Underweight" Rating by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) from a neutral rating to an underweight rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has $225.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $235.00.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. 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 lifted 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 report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Citigroup assumed 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Asbury Automotive Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $259.33.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of ABG traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $229.67. The company had a trading volume of 175,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 197,067. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $239.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $245.10. Asbury Automotive Group has a 1-year low of $201.68 and a 1-year high of $312.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.96.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $6.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.84 by ($0.02). Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.42% and a return on equity of 15.41%. The company had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.21 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.28 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,157,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,798 shares of the company's stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 4th quarter valued at $447,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 52.3% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,897,000 after acquiring an additional 2,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares in the last quarter.

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.