Channing Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Key Points

• Channing Capital Management LLC has reduced its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 2.6%, holding 262,545 shares worth approximately $57.98 million after selling 6,990 shares.
• Asbury Automotive Group reported $7.43 EPS for its recent quarter, exceeding estimates, but had revenue of $4.37 billion, slightly below the consensus estimate.
• Analysts show mixed sentiments towards Asbury Automotive Group, with price objectives ranging from $215.00 to $335.00 and a consensus rating of "Hold."

Channing Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 262,545 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,990 shares during the quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC owned 1.34% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $57,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 43.9% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in 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 period. CWM LLC grew its position in 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 period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $197,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Asbury Automotive Group

In other Asbury Automotive Group news, Director Juanita T. James sold 625 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.10, for a total transaction of $152,562.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,855 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,673,305.50. The trade was a 8.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jed Milstein sold 1,132 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.26, for a total transaction of $286,690.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,267 shares in the company, valued at $2,853,480.42. This represents a 9.13% 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 90 days. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

NYSE:ABG traded up $3.74 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $256.57. 30,203 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 201,229. 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 1 year low of $201.68 and a 1 year high of $312.56. The company has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $240.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.66.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ABG. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Cfra set a $225.00 target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $254.00.

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.