Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG Shares Sold by Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 46.1%, selling 19,027 shares, while other hedge funds like Versant Capital Management Inc and GAMMA Investing LLC increased their stakes.
• Insider trading activity included SVP Dean Calloway selling 400 shares and Director Juanita T. James selling 625 shares, resulting in a combined 2,157 shares sold over the last quarter.
• Asbury Automotive Group reported earnings of $7.43 per share, exceeding estimates and demonstrating a 3% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 46.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,272 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,027 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $4,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 43.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the first quarter valued at $49,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 39.2% during 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 last quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 7.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 858 shares of the company's stock valued at $189,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock traded down $6.58 on Friday, reaching $251.46. 160,985 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 201,318. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $201.68 and a 1-year high of $312.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $241.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $239.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a PE ratio of 9.18, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Asbury Automotive Group

In other Asbury Automotive Group news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 1,132 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.26, for a total value of $286,690.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,267 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,853,480.42. This represents a 9.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Dean Calloway sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.40, for a total transaction of $101,760.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 5,295 shares in the company, valued at $1,347,048. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,157 shares of company stock valued at $541,013 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company's stock.

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.