JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Price Target to $265.00

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) had its price target upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $230.00 to $265.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

ABG has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $225.25.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Up 4.1 %

ABG opened at $221.71 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $237.94 and its 200-day moving average is $228.75. Asbury Automotive Group has a 1-year low of $178.40 and a 1-year high of $277.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.08 and a beta of 1.16.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $6.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.31 by ($0.91). Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The company had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.95 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Asbury Automotive Group news, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at approximately $453,211,473.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Asbury Automotive Group news, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at approximately $453,211,473.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.18, for a total transaction of $113,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 56,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,911,548.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 20,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,768,000 after purchasing an additional 4,224 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC increased its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 11.7% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Natixis bought a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the 1st quarter valued at $896,000. Boston Partners bought a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the 1st quarter valued at $878,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 147.1% during the 4th 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 in 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.