Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Price Target Raised to $260.00

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) had its price target upped by Craig Hallum from $240.00 to $260.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on ABG. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $216.00 price target for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $257.20.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

NYSE ABG opened at $227.98 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.90 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 1.25. Asbury Automotive Group has a 52-week low of $195.09 and a 52-week high of $277.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $229.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $231.39.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $6.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.58 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.16% and a return on equity of 16.58%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.12 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group will post 25.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Asbury Automotive Group

In other news, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.18, for a total value of $113,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 56,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,911,548.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.63, for a total value of $1,884,687.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,008,649 shares in the company, valued at $453,211,473.87. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.18, for a total value of $113,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,911,548.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the first quarter worth about $895,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 42.1% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 25,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,100,000 after buying an additional 7,667 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 20,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,768,000 after acquiring an additional 4,224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 379.6% during the 1st quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,798 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,367,000 after acquiring an additional 4,589 shares during the period.

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.