Public Sector Pension Investment Board Buys 13,293 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. by 27.2%, owning approximately 0.32% of the company, valued at about $13.7 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on Asbury, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and price targets ranging from $215.00 to $335.00, indicating varying expectations for the stock's performance.
• Asbury Automotive reported a quarterly earnings per share of $7.43, exceeding estimates by $0.61, but its revenue of $4.37 billion fell short of expectations of $4.44 billion.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 27.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,139 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,293 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned 0.32% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $13,723,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 43.9% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 39.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 586 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 801.4% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 631 shares of the company's stock valued at $153,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 858 shares of the company's stock valued at $189,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $197,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ABG shares. Stephens raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $236.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Asbury Automotive Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $254.00.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

ABG stock traded down $1.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $240.64. The stock had a trading volume of 175,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 204,777. 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 52 week low of $201.68 and a 52 week high of $312.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $242.72.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 15.41%. The firm had revenue of $4.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.40 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current year.

Asbury Automotive Group Company 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.