Teacher Retirement System of Texas Increases Stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) by 13.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,459 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $2,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABG. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 484 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,502 shares of the company's stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Vista Finance LLC raised its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 982 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 1,856 shares of the company's stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Bank of America increased 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 report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $236.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $263.50.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Asbury Automotive Group stock traded up $0.28 during trading on Monday, reaching $263.50. The company had a trading volume of 87,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 197,504. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $237.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $245.01. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $201.68 and a 1-year high of $312.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $6.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.84 by ($0.02). Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.42% and a return on equity of 15.41%. The company had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.21 EPS. Asbury Automotive Group's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.