Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG Shares Acquired by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 76,656 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,632 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.39% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $18,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter valued at $77,544,000. Eminence Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 36.0% in the 2nd quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 1,002,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,055,000 after buying an additional 265,539 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 545.7% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 143,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,051,000 after acquiring an additional 121,183 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 122.0% during the 2nd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 199,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,413,000 after acquiring an additional 109,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 278,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,561,000 after acquiring an additional 91,767 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on ABG shares. Barclays reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price target on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Zacks Research downgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $247.57.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of ABG opened at $229.93 on Friday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.68 and a fifty-two week high of $306.46. The company has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a PE ratio of 9.16 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $239.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $238.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $6.67 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.70 by ($0.03). Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 14.63%. The business had revenue of $4.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.26 EPS. Asbury Automotive Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current year.

Asbury Automotive Group Company 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.