Stephens Initiates Coverage on Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG)

Equities researchers at Stephens started coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set an “equal weight” rating and a $216.00 price target on the stock. Stephens’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 0.73% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on ABG. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.25.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Down 1.0 %

ABG stock opened at $214.43 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.81 and a beta of 1.16. Asbury Automotive Group has a 52 week low of $178.40 and a 52 week high of $277.13. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $238.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $228.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $6.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.31 by ($0.91). The company had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 2.51%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.95 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group will post 27.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Asbury Automotive Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 26.4% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 20,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,768,000 after buying an additional 4,224 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 11.7% in the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 21,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,961,000 after purchasing an additional 2,198 shares during the period. Natixis purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the first quarter valued at $896,000. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the first quarter valued at $878,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 147.1% in the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 18,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,063,000 after purchasing an additional 10,737 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.