Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Stock Price Up 6.8% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABGGet Free Report) traded up 6.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $224.00 and last traded at $224.4680. 9,637 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 96% from the average daily volume of 246,639 shares. The stock had previously closed at $210.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $212.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $220.00 price target on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays cut their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $202.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $233.12.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on ABG

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 7.85, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $198.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.88.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABGGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $5.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.62 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.37 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.05% and a return on equity of 13.39%. Asbury Automotive Group’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.82 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Asbury Automotive Group

In related news, Director B. Christopher Disantis purchased 157 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $182.31 per share, with a total value of $28,622.67. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,400 shares in the company, valued at $1,166,784. The trade was a 2.51% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABG. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,965,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 107.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 237.8% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 54.6% during the 1st quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 6,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 2,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 10.2% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 53,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,409,000 after buying an additional 4,936 shares in the last quarter.

About Asbury Automotive Group

(Get Free Report)

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.

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