Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Stock Rated "Hold" by Sell-Side Brokerages

Key Points

• Asbury Automotive Group has a consensus “Hold” rating from nine covering brokerages, with six holds, two buys and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $214, although targets range from $193 to $300.
• Recent analyst views were mixed: Citigroup raised its target to $250, UBS cut its target to $193, and Seaport Research Partners upgraded the stock to “Buy” with a $300 target.
• Asbury reported quarterly EPS of $6.82, beating estimates of $6.31, while revenue of $4.38 billion fell short of expectations. The stock opened at $168.47, near its one-year low of $164.34.

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $214.00.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ABG shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Barclays reissued a "reduce" rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $250.00 to $193.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 948 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.28, for a total transaction of $237,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,817,902.52. This represents a 7.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the second quarter worth about $593,499,000. Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,592,000. Lakewood Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,919,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,142,000. Finally, Robotti Robert acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $17,537,000.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:ABG opened at $168.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.78. Asbury Automotive Group has a one year low of $164.34 and a one year high of $258.74. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $201.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $201.56.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.31 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.49 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 2.83%.Asbury Automotive Group's revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.43 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Asbury Automotive Group Company Profile

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc is a U.S.-based automotive retailer that operates franchised dealerships representing a range of domestic and international vehicle manufacturers. The company sells new and used cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles, and provides related financing and insurance products.

In addition to vehicle sales, Asbury's dealerships offer automotive maintenance and repair, replacement parts, collision repair and other after-sales services. The company also operates Clicklane, a digital retail platform designed to support online vehicle purchasing, financing and trade-ins.

Headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, Asbury serves customers through dealership locations across multiple U.S.

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