Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Short Interest Update

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,370,000 shares, an increase of 12.9% from the September 15th total of 2,100,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 203,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 11.6 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.18, for a total value of $113,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 56,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,911,548.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,911,548.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.63, for a total value of $1,884,687.39. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,008,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,211,473.87. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Asbury Automotive Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ABG. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 100.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 292 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $155,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the 4th quarter valued at $162,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $190,000.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

NYSE:ABG traded up $9.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $234.99. 115,602 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 181,510. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.23 and a beta of 1.16. Asbury Automotive Group has a 1 year low of $178.40 and a 1 year high of $277.13. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $229.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $231.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $6.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.31 by ($0.91). The business had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 2.51%. The business’s revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.95 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $216.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised Asbury Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $190.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Asbury Automotive Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $251.20.

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.