Strs Ohio Purchases Shares of 3,600 Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has invested approximately $795,000 in Asbury Automotive Group by acquiring 3,600 shares in the first quarter.
• Asbury Automotive's stock is currently trading at $241.23 with a recent EPS of $7.43, exceeding analysts' expectations of $6.82.
• Equity analysts have mixed ratings on Asbury, with two Buy ratings, four Hold ratings, and one Sell rating, and an average price target of $249.00.

Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $795,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 43.9% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 1st quarter worth $49,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 39.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 586 shares of the company's stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 7.5% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 858 shares of the company's stock worth $189,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of ABG stock traded up $4.34 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $244.12. 8,195 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 194,671. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.92, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.89. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $201.68 and a 52 week high of $312.56. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $240.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $235.44.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $7.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $4.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.44 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 15.41%. The company's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Asbury Automotive Group

In other Asbury Automotive Group news, Director Maureen F. Morrison sold 800 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.61, for a total value of $204,488.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,824 shares in the company, valued at $1,488,672.64. The trade was a 12.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Juanita T. James sold 625 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.10, for a total value of $152,562.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,855 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,673,305.50. The trade was a 8.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,957 shares of company stock worth $745,501. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ABG. Stephens raised Asbury Automotive Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Bank of America cut their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Cfra set a $225.00 target price on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $249.00.

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.