Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Given New $230.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) had its price target upped by Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target suggests a potential upside of 7.35% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group set a $250.00 price objective on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $190.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $242.00 target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $246.71.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of ABG traded down $1.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $214.26. The stock had a trading volume of 65,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 249,646. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.48. Asbury Automotive Group has a one year low of $172.01 and a one year high of $263.38. The firm has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of 8.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.31 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.49 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 12.72%. Asbury Automotive Group’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 948 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.28, for a total transaction of $237,265.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,817,902.52. The trade was a 7.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director B. Christopher Disantis bought 157 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $182.31 per share, for a total transaction of $28,622.67. Following the purchase, the director owned 6,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,166,784. This trade represents a 2.51% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the 2nd quarter worth $593,499,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter valued at about $4,344,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter valued at about $27,142,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the second quarter worth about $1,541,000.

About Asbury Automotive Group

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc (NYSE:ABG) is one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States. Headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, the company operates a network of franchised dealerships representing a diverse portfolio of automotive brands. Its core business activities include the sale of new and pre-owned vehicles, as well as the provision of vehicle finance, insurance and protection products to retail customers.

In addition to retail sales, Asbury offers a comprehensive suite of after-sales services, from scheduled maintenance and certified collision repair to parts distribution.