Engineers Gate Manager LP Grows Stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Key Points

• Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its Asbury Automotive Group stake by 1,067.2% in the second quarter, ending with 14,217 shares valued at approximately $2.86 million. Other major investors, including California State Teachers Retirement System and BlackRock, also significantly expanded or initiated positions.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Seaport upgraded the stock to “buy,” while JPMorgan maintained an “underweight” rating. Overall, analysts give ABG a consensus “hold” rating with an average price target of $237.83.
• Asbury reported quarterly earnings of $6.82 per share, exceeding estimates of $6.31, while revenue reached $4.38 billion. Shares opened at $208.46, below the consensus target and beneath their 50-day moving average.

Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 1,067.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,217 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,999 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP owned about 0.08% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $2,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 19,410.7% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,302,308 shares of the company's stock valued at $865,108,000 after purchasing an additional 4,280,257 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter worth approximately $593,499,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 3.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,156,426 shares of the company's stock worth $225,977,000 after buying an additional 34,104 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 781,228 shares of the company's stock worth $181,659,000 after buying an additional 9,535 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter worth $77,963,000.

Insider Transactions at Asbury Automotive Group

In related news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 948 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.28, for a total value of $237,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,817,902.52. This trade represents a 7.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Seaport Research Partners upgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $190.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $237.83.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock opened at $208.46 on Monday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $216.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.80, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.71. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $172.01 and a 12-month high of $258.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.31 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.49 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 12.72%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.43 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.44 EPS for the current year.

Asbury Automotive Group Company Profile

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc is a U.S.-based automotive retailer that sells new and used vehicles through a network of franchised dealerships. The company represents a range of domestic, import and luxury automotive brands and serves consumers in multiple markets across the United States.

In addition to vehicle sales, Asbury provides automotive maintenance and repair services, replacement parts, collision repair and other dealership-related services. Its dealerships also offer financing and insurance products, vehicle protection plans and digital tools designed to support vehicle purchasing and ownership.

Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, Asbury has expanded through acquisitions as well as the development of its dealership portfolio.

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