Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG Position Boosted by Magnolia Group LLC

Key Points

• Magnolia Group LLC increased its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 6.0%, holding 238,123 shares, which makes the stock its 5th largest position.
• Asbury Automotive reported $7.43 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, while revenue was slightly below estimates at $4.37 billion.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Asbury's stock, with average target prices ranging from $225.00 to $300.00, resulting in an overall "Hold" rating consensus.

Magnolia Group LLC increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 6.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 238,123 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,500 shares during the quarter. Asbury Automotive Group accounts for 8.7% of Magnolia Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Magnolia Group LLC owned 1.21% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $56,802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL now owns 713,158 shares of the company's stock worth $157,494,000 after purchasing an additional 5,284 shares during the period. 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 purchasing an additional 34,160 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 49.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 278,760 shares of the company's stock worth $61,561,000 after purchasing an additional 91,767 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 213,996 shares of the company's stock worth $47,259,000 after purchasing an additional 2,230 shares during the period. Finally, Voss Capital LP raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 43.7% in the 1st quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 169,111 shares of the company's stock worth $37,346,000 after purchasing an additional 51,411 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Asbury Automotive Group

In other news, SVP Dean Calloway sold 400 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.40, for a total transaction of $101,760.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 5,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,347,048. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jed Milstein sold 1,132 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.26, for a total transaction of $286,690.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,267 shares in the company, valued at $2,853,480.42. The trade was a 9.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,957 shares of company stock worth $745,501. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of ABG opened at $244.02 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $245.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $236.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $201.68 and a 1-year high of $312.56.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $7.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $4.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 15.41%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Stephens raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Cfra set a $225.00 price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of 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, Zacks Research raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $251.14.

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.

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