Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG Stock Holdings Trimmed by Royce & Associates LP

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP cut its Asbury Automotive Group stake by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, but still held 59,823 shares valued at about $13.9 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on ABG is mixed: the stock has a consensus rating of Hold with an average target price of $233.50, while JPMorgan and Weiss Ratings both recently turned more cautious.
• Asbury reported weaker-than-expected Q1 results, posting EPS of $5.37 versus estimates of $5.62 and revenue of $4.11 billion versus $4.37 billion expected.

Royce & Associates LP lowered its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 59,823 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,550 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.31% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $13,911,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABG. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 106.5% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 296,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,842,000 after acquiring an additional 152,669 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,684,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 261.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 159,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,025,000 after purchasing an additional 115,504 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 278,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,561,000 after purchasing an additional 91,767 shares during the period. Finally, Abrams Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $526,910,000 after purchasing an additional 46,952 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Stephens lowered their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $277.00 to $254.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Asbury Automotive Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $233.50.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABG opened at $194.02 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.87, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $195.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.25. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $172.01 and a 52-week high of $274.50.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $5.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.62 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 3.05%.The business's revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 25.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director B. Christopher Disantis bought 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $202.30 per share, for a total transaction of $101,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 5,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,092,420. The trade was a 10.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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