Bank of America Cuts Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Price Target to $300.00

Key Points

• Bank of America has lowered its price target for Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) from $335.00 to $300.00 while maintaining a "buy" rating on the stock, indicating a potential upside of 20.41% from its previous close.
• Shares of Asbury Automotive Group fell by 1.9% to $249.16, with an average rating of "Hold" and an overall average target price of $249.00 among analysts.
• Asbury Automotive recently reported earnings of $7.43 per share, exceeding consensus estimates, but its revenue was slightly below expectations at $4.37 billion for the quarter.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by research analysts at Bank of America from $335.00 to $300.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Bank of America's price objective suggests a potential upside of 20.41% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on ABG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Stephens upgraded Asbury Automotive Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Cfra set a $225.00 price objective on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $249.00.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:ABG traded down $4.78 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $249.16. 21,046 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 197,566. Asbury Automotive Group has a 52 week low of $201.68 and a 52 week high of $312.56. The company has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.89. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $243.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $236.90.

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

Insider Transactions at Asbury Automotive Group

In related news, SVP Dean Calloway sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.40, for a total value of $101,760.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 5,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,347,048. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Maureen F. Morrison sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.61, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 12.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,957 shares of company stock valued at $745,501 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Asbury Automotive Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 69.2% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 132 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 43.9% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 64.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 206 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the first quarter worth $56,000.

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.

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.