Analysts Set Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Price Target at $263.50

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $263.50.

Several research firms have weighed in on ABG. Wall Street Zen upgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Bank of America raised their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $325.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $236.00 target price for the company.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE ABG opened at $241.01 on Friday. Asbury Automotive Group has a fifty-two week low of $201.68 and a fifty-two week high of $312.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $229.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $244.82. The stock has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.96.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $6.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.84 by ($0.02). Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 15.41% and a net margin of 2.42%. The business had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.21 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 43.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the first quarter valued at $49,000. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the first quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter.

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.