GW&K Investment Management LLC Has $33.95 Million Stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

GW&K Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 138,873 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $33,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABG. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 69.2% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 64.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 104.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 466.7% during the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 17.8% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABG opened at $207.75 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.92. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.68 and a fifty-two week high of $274.50. The company has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.28 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $6.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.70 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $4.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.93 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 14.51%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “reduce” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $247.57.

Asbury Automotive Group Profile

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.