Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE: ABG) from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating increased confidence in the stock's performance.
• Bank of America decreased its target price for ABG from $335 to $300, while analysts have a consensus price target of $251.14 for the stock.
• Asbury Automotive reported quarterly earnings of $7.43 EPS, surpassing estimates, with a revenue of $4.37 billion, demonstrating a 3.0% increase compared to the same quarter last year.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on ABG. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Stephens raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $251.14.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Up 3.1%

ABG stock opened at $246.88 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a PE ratio of 9.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.85. Asbury Automotive Group has a one year low of $201.68 and a one year high of $312.56. The company's 50 day moving average price is $244.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $236.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $7.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $4.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Asbury Automotive Group

In other news, Director Maureen F. Morrison sold 800 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.61, for a total value of $204,488.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,488,672.64. The trade was a 12.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Juanita T. James sold 625 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.10, for a total value of $152,562.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,855 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,673,305.50. This represents a 8.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,957 shares of company stock worth $745,501. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Asbury Automotive Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Eminence Capital LP raised its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 36.0% in the 2nd quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 1,002,160 shares of the company's stock worth $239,055,000 after purchasing an additional 265,539 shares during the last quarter. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL now owns 724,082 shares of the company's stock worth $172,723,000 after buying an additional 10,924 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 472,476 shares of the company's stock worth $112,717,000 after buying an additional 3,437 shares during the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 373,320 shares of the company's stock worth $82,444,000 after buying an additional 34,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $77,544,000.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.