Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 34,104 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 3.0% in the first quarter, buying 34,104 shares to bring its total holding to 1,156,426 shares, worth about $225.98 million.
• Several other hedge funds also added to or initiated positions in ABG, while insider activity included Director B. Christopher Disantis buying 157 shares in May.
• Analysts are cautious on the stock: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $233.12, after Asbury recently reported lower-than-expected quarterly EPS and revenue.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,156,426 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 34,104 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 6.21% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $225,977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ABG. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 319.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 128 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 132 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $202.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $220.00 target price on Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $212.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $233.12.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock opened at $222.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a one year low of $172.01 and a one year high of $263.38. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $199.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $209.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.74.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $5.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.62 by ($0.25). Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.05% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.82 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.26 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director B. Christopher Disantis purchased 157 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $182.31 per share, with a total value of $28,622.67. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,166,784. This represents a 2.51% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ABG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.