Bank of America Begins Coverage on Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG)

Equities research analysts at Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $325.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America's price target would suggest a potential upside of 42.43% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $236.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Craig Hallum lowered shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $261.83.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE ABG traded up $1.93 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $228.18. 116,325 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 201,900. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 0.98. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $224.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.64. Asbury Automotive Group has a 52 week low of $201.68 and a 52 week high of $312.56.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 2.50%. The company had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.21 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ABG. 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 worth $269,322,000 after acquiring an additional 9,688 shares during the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 787,775 shares of the company's stock valued at $191,453,000 after buying an additional 107,317 shares during the period. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL raised its stake in 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 valued at $157,494,000 after buying an additional 5,284 shares in the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,426,000.

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.