Petrus Trust Company LTA Purchases Shares of 2,212 Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Key Points

• Petrus Trust Company LTA has acquired 2,212 shares of Asbury Automotive Group, valued at approximately $488,000, marking a new position for the institutional investor.
• Insider selling activity included Dean Calloway and Jed Milstein, who sold shares valued at over $388,000 combined, indicating a decrease in their respective holdings.
• Analysts have mixed views on Asbury Automotive Group with Bank of America raising its price target to $335, while JPMorgan Chase lowered theirs to $215, reflecting varied market outlooks.

Petrus Trust Company LTA acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $488,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ABG. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 43.9% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 39.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 586 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 858 shares of the company's stock valued at $189,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group in the first quarter worth $197,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Asbury Automotive Group

In related news, Director Juanita T. James sold 625 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director directly owned 6,855 shares in the company, valued at $1,673,305.50. This represents a 8.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jed Milstein sold 1,132 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.26, for a total value of $286,690.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,267 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,853,480.42. This trade represents a 9.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,957 shares of company stock worth $745,501. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ABG. Cfra set a $225.00 price target on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Stephens upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $254.00.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of ABG traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $253.87. The company had a trading volume of 82,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 140,336. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $243.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $236.90. The company has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.89. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. 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 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $7.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.61. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 3.13%.The company had revenue of $4.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.40 EPS. Asbury Automotive Group's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current year.

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.