Bayforest Capital Ltd Increases Stock Holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 143.9% during the second quarter, now owning 2,817 shares valued at $672,000.
• Analysts have mixed views on Asbury Automotive Group, with three rating it as a buy, four as a hold, and one as a sell, while the consensus target price is set at $249.00.
• The company's stock recently reported a 1.6% increase, with earnings per share of $7.43 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations.

Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 143.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,817 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,662 shares during the quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $672,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 39.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 586 shares of the company's stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the 1st quarter worth about $1,111,000. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the 1st quarter worth about $455,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 73.2% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 18,820 shares of the company's stock worth $4,156,000 after acquiring an additional 7,953 shares during the period. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the company's stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Cfra set a $225.00 price target on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Stephens upgraded Asbury Automotive Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $249.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Dean Calloway sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.40, for a total value of $101,760.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 5,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,347,048. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Juanita T. James sold 625 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.10, for a total value of $152,562.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,855 shares in the company, valued at $1,673,305.50. This trade represents a 8.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,957 shares of company stock worth $745,501. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE:ABG opened at $238.92 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $201.68 and a 52 week high of $312.56. The stock's fifty day moving average is $244.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.32.

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

Asbury Automotive Group 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.

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