Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Buys New Position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $976,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABG. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 0.9% in 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 boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 15.8% during the 4th 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 during the period. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.5% during the 4th 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 during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $82,079,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 239,007 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,086,000 after purchasing an additional 19,923 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on ABG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $235.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Asbury Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $236.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $259.33.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

ABG traded up $4.51 on Friday, reaching $237.08. The stock had a trading volume of 121,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 167,277. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.68 and a fifty-two week high of $312.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $239.61 and a 200-day moving average of $244.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.96.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 2.42%. The firm had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.21 EPS. Asbury Automotive Group's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current 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.