Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $238.68, but opened at $222.18. Asbury Automotive Group shares last traded at $238.5350, with a volume of 29,993 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $275.00 to $251.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $335.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Monday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.57.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $239.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.88.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $7.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.80 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.84 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 15.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Abrams Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,155,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,910,000 after acquiring an additional 46,952 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,104,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,906,000 after purchasing an additional 5,757 shares during the period. Eminence Capital LP boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 36.0% during the second quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 1,002,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,055,000 after purchasing an additional 265,539 shares during the period. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL increased its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1.5% in the second quarter. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL now owns 724,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,723,000 after purchasing an additional 10,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 472,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,717,000 after purchasing an additional 3,437 shares during the period.

Asbury Automotive Group Company Profile

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.