Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG Shares Purchased by Tudor Investment Corp ET AL

Key Points

• Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group (ABG) by 52.2% in Q3, adding 18,507 shares to hold 53,973 shares valued at about $13.19 million.
• Asbury missed quarterly expectations, reporting $6.67 EPS vs. $6.70 est. and $4.68B revenue vs. $4.93B est.; analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with a $248.29 target while the stock trades near its 52‑week low (~$185).
• Insider buying: director B. Christopher Disantis purchased 500 shares at $202.30, raising his stake to 5,400 shares (a 10.2% increase).

Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,973 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,507 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL owned 0.28% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $13,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ABG. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $208,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $512,000. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the third quarter worth approximately $32,684,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 319.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC boosted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 7.0% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 1,953 shares of the company's stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 target price on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Monday, December 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a "reduce" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $248.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director B. Christopher Disantis bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $202.30 per share, with a total value of $101,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 5,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,420. This represents a 10.20% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.59% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

NYSE:ABG opened at $185.06 on Friday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $184.61 and a 52 week high of $274.50. The stock's fifty day moving average is $223.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.63. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.38 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

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

About Asbury Automotive Group

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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