Natixis Advisors LLC Purchases 13,424 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 10.9% in the first quarter, now holding 136,793 shares worth approximately $30.2 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on ABG, with one downgrade from JPMorgan and a price target reduction, while Bank of America upgraded the stock to a "buy" with a price target increase to $335.00.
• Asbury Automotive Group reported $7.43 EPS for the latest quarter, surpassing expectations, but its revenue of $4.37 billion was below analyst forecasts of $4.44 billion.

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 136,793 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,424 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.70% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $30,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,108,176 shares of the company's stock valued at $269,322,000 after purchasing an additional 9,688 shares in the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 787,775 shares of the company's stock worth $191,453,000 after acquiring an additional 107,317 shares in the last quarter. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL now owns 707,874 shares of the company's stock worth $172,035,000 after acquiring an additional 3,490 shares in the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 10.1% in the first quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 373,320 shares of the company's stock worth $82,444,000 after acquiring an additional 34,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 239,007 shares of the company's stock worth $58,086,000 after acquiring an additional 19,923 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Cfra set a $225.00 price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Citigroup assumed 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 target on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Asbury Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $253.00.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Up 3.0%

NYSE:ABG traded up $6.61 on Tuesday, hitting $230.55. 85,836 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 205,514. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $201.68 and a 1 year high of $312.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $239.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $244.04. The company has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a PE ratio of 8.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.87.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $4.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.44 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 3.13%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.40 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current fiscal 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.