Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 2,679 Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $592,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 4,638 shares of the company's stock worth $1,127,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 49,251 shares of the company's stock worth $11,969,000 after buying an additional 3,224 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,984,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 7,638 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,856,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Cfra set a $225.00 price target on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $236.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $253.00.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of ABG stock traded down $2.12 on Friday, reaching $221.87. 142,035 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 229,704. The business's 50 day moving average price is $238.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $243.36. The company has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.30. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.68 and a 12-month high of $312.56.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $7.43 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 company had revenue of $4.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.40 EPS. Asbury Automotive Group's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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.