Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies increased its stake in Asbury Automotive by 261.7% in Q3 to 159,645 shares (about 0.82% of the company, ~$39.0M), while Abrams Capital remains a major holder with roughly 2.16M shares (~$526.9M).
• Analyst sentiment is mixed—two Buy, four Hold and two Sell—leaving an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $247.57; Bank of America initiated coverage with a Buy while Barclays and Weiss cut ratings/targets.
• Recent results showed quarterly EPS of $6.67 (missed by $0.03) and revenue of $4.68B (below the $4.93B estimate); shares trade near $205 with a market cap of about $3.95B and a P/E of 8.18.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 261.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 159,645 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 115,504 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.82% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $39,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABG. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 196.5% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 6,085 shares of the company's stock worth $1,487,000 after acquiring an additional 4,033 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 3.1% in the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 218,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,297,000 after purchasing an additional 6,562 shares during the last quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,155,492 shares of the company's stock worth $526,910,000 after acquiring an additional 46,952 shares in the last quarter. GoodHaven Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1.7% during the third quarter. GoodHaven Capital Management LLC now owns 23,958 shares of the company's stock worth $5,857,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the third quarter worth about $425,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ABG. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a "reduce" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $247.57.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

ABG opened at $205.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company's 50-day moving average price is $232.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $237.67. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $197.51 and a fifty-two week high of $274.50. The firm has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.18 and a beta of 0.81.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $6.67 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.70 by ($0.03). Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 2.73%.The company had revenue of $4.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $7.26 earnings per share. Asbury Automotive Group's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Asbury Automotive Group Profile

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc NYSE: ABG is one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States. Headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, the company operates a network of franchised dealerships representing a diverse portfolio of automotive brands. Its core business activities include the sale of new and pre-owned vehicles, as well as the provision of vehicle finance, insurance and protection products to retail customers.

In addition to retail sales, Asbury offers a comprehensive suite of after-sales services, from scheduled maintenance and certified collision repair to parts distribution.

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