Fifth Third Bancorp Grows Stock Holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp dramatically increased its position in Asbury Automotive Group during the first quarter, boosting its stake by 13,382.1% to 21,032 shares worth about $4.11 million.
• Other major investors also adjusted holdings, with firms like Goldman Sachs, AQR Capital Management, and UBS AM adding to their Asbury Automotive positions in the latest quarter.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: the stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating and average price target of $233.12, while the company recently reported quarterly EPS and revenue below expectations.

Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 13,382.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,032 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 20,876 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned 0.11% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $4,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,263 shares of the company's stock worth $1,383,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 49.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 278,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,561,000 after purchasing an additional 91,767 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the first quarter valued at $265,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 11.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,639 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,687,000 after buying an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 51,239 shares of the company's stock worth $11,316,000 after buying an additional 1,676 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other Asbury Automotive Group news, Director B. Christopher Disantis acquired 157 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $182.31 per share, for a total transaction of $28,622.67. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,166,784. This trade represents a 2.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $202.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Citigroup lowered 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $233.12.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABG opened at $220.40 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 7.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.74. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $172.01 and a 12 month high of $263.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.39.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $5.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.82 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 25.82 earnings per share for the current year.

About Asbury Automotive Group

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.

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