Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Rating) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Thursday.
A number of other brokerages have also commented on ABG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $185.00 to $152.00 in a research note on Friday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Asbury Automotive Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $206.75.
Shares of NYSE:ABG traded up $1.69 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $166.36. 138,974 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 284,196. Asbury Automotive Group has a fifty-two week low of $146.43 and a fifty-two week high of $230.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.21. The firm has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a PE ratio of 5.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 1.20.
Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG - Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 28th. The company reported $9.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.92 by $0.35. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 39.72%. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.68 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 78.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group will post 35.18 earnings per share for the current year.
Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 3,160 shares of the company's stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 4,124 shares of the company's stock worth $712,000 after buying an additional 1,015 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 174,829 shares of the company's stock worth $30,199,000 after buying an additional 15,685 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth about $1,814,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 16,385 shares of the company's stock worth $2,830,000 after buying an additional 2,285 shares during the period.
About Asbury Automotive Group (Get Rating)
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.
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