Vanguard Group Inc. Has $529.49 Million Position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,166,043 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,764 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.14% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $529,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eminence Capital LP raised its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 36.0% in the 2nd quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 1,002,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,055,000 after acquiring an additional 265,539 shares during the period. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL lifted its position 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 buying an additional 10,924 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 3,437 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $77,544,000. Finally, Magnolia Group LLC raised its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. Magnolia Group LLC now owns 282,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,087,000 after buying an additional 44,500 shares during the last quarter.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of ABG stock opened at $219.55 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $237.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $239.09. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.68 and a 12-month high of $280.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.82.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $6.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.70 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $4.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.93 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 14.51%. Asbury Automotive Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.26 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on ABG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “reduce” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research lowered Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $247.57.

Asbury Automotive Group Profile

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.