Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG Shares Sold by Towle & Co.

Towle & Co. trimmed its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 34,636 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,119 shares during the period. Asbury Automotive Group comprises approximately 2.1% of Towle & Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Towle & Co.’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $8,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Abrams Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,155,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,910,000 after buying an additional 46,952 shares in the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP raised its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 36.0% in the second quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 1,002,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,055,000 after acquiring an additional 265,539 shares during the period. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL now owns 724,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,723,000 after acquiring an additional 10,924 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 472,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,717,000 after acquiring an additional 3,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $77,544,000.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Up 1.4%

ABG stock opened at $226.36 on Friday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.68 and a 12-month high of $290.32. The business’s 50-day moving average is $238.13 and its 200 day moving average is $239.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.02 and a beta of 0.82.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $6.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.70 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $4.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.93 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 14.63%. Asbury Automotive Group’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Monday, December 8th. Barclays cut their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “reduce” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $247.57.

About Asbury Automotive Group

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.