Simcoe Capital Management LLC Sells 133,425 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Key Points

• Simcoe Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 27.6%, selling 133,425 shares and now owning 349,295 shares, which constitutes about 13.8% of its investment portfolio.
• Other institutional investors significantly increased their positions, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its stake by 30,639.2%, now holding shares valued at approximately $285.8 million.
• Asbury Automotive Group's recent earnings report showed EPS of $7.43, exceeding analysts' expectations of $6.82, though revenue for the quarter came in slightly below projections at $4.37 billion.

Simcoe Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 27.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 349,295 shares of the company's stock after selling 133,425 shares during the quarter. Asbury Automotive Group accounts for about 13.8% of Simcoe Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Simcoe Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.78% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $77,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL grew its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL now owns 713,158 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,494,000 after acquiring an additional 5,284 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the first quarter valued at about $6,441,000. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the 1st quarter worth about $1,815,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 1,056.7% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 86,756 shares of the company's stock worth $19,159,000 after purchasing an additional 79,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 9,248 shares of the company's stock worth $2,042,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ABG. Wall Street Zen raised Asbury Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Cfra set a $225.00 target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Asbury Automotive Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $254.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Dean Calloway sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.40, for a total value of $101,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 5,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,347,048. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jed Milstein sold 1,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.26, for a total transaction of $286,690.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,267 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,853,480.42. This trade represents a 9.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,157 shares of company stock worth $541,013. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

NYSE ABG traded up $1.37 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $252.91. The company had a trading volume of 117,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 200,653. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $242.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $238.08. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.68 and a fifty-two week high of $312.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.89.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $7.43 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $4.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.40 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Asbury Automotive Group

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.