Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 2,230 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 1.1%, owning 213,996 shares valued at approximately $47.26 million after acquiring an additional 2,230 shares.
• Asbury Automotive Group reported $7.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, exceeding expectations and showing a 3.0% annual revenue increase despite a miss on revenue forecasts.
• Analysts have mixed insights on Asbury Automotive: JPMorgan downgraded its rating while Stephens upgraded it, reflecting a broad consensus rating of "Hold" with a price target of $254.00.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 213,996 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,230 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.09% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $47,259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 38.9% in the first quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 2,827 shares of the company's stock worth $624,000 after buying an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the first quarter worth approximately $592,000. US Bancorp DE increased its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1.7% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,540 shares of the company's stock worth $782,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 10.9% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 136,793 shares of the company's stock worth $30,209,000 after purchasing an additional 13,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 7.7% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,155 shares of the company's stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $236.00 price objective on the stock. 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. Stephens upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America upped 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $254.00.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock traded down $2.39 on Wednesday, hitting $242.70. The stock had a trading volume of 34,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 202,760. 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 one year low of $201.68 and a one year high of $312.56. The stock has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.86, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.87. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $239.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $241.46.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $7.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $4.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current year.

About Asbury Automotive Group

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.