Analysts Set Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Target Price at $251.14

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the nine brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $251.1429.

Several research firms recently commented on ABG. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Cfra set a $225.00 price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stephens upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of ABG stock opened at $235.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.61, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.85. Asbury Automotive Group has a 1-year low of $201.68 and a 1-year high of $312.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.12.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $7.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.84 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 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.35 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Asbury Automotive Group

In related news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 1,132 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.26, for a total value of $286,690.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,853,480.42. This trade represents a 9.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Juanita T. James sold 625 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $152,562.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,855 shares in the company, valued at $1,673,305.50. The trade was a 8.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,957 shares of company stock worth $745,501. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ABG. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 39.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 73.2% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 18,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,156,000 after purchasing an additional 7,953 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 23.8% during the first quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 13.7% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 14,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,279,000 after purchasing an additional 1,787 shares during the period.

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.