Barclays Cuts Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Price Target to $230.00

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) had its price target lowered by Barclays from $265.00 to $230.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on ABG. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. UBS Group set a $250.00 price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $190.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $214.00.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of ABG opened at $168.47 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $201.56 and a 200 day moving average of $201.56. The company has a market cap of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 6.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.78. Asbury Automotive Group has a 52-week low of $164.34 and a 52-week high of $258.74.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.31 by $0.51. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 12.72%. The business had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 948 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,817,902.52. This trade represents a 7.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Cim Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 7.3% in the second quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC lifted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 9.0% during the first quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 1,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 20.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 642 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 263.3% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 178 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter.

About Asbury Automotive Group

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc is a U.S.-based automotive retailer that operates franchised dealerships representing a range of domestic and international vehicle manufacturers. The company sells new and used cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles, and provides related financing and insurance products.

In addition to vehicle sales, Asbury’s dealerships offer automotive maintenance and repair, replacement parts, collision repair and other after-sales services. The company also operates Clicklane, a digital retail platform designed to support online vehicle purchasing, financing and trade-ins.

Headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, Asbury serves customers through dealership locations across multiple U.S.