Empowered Funds LLC Takes $2.10 Million Position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 10,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,100,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 11.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,383,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 49.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 278,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,561,000 after acquiring an additional 91,767 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the first quarter worth about $265,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 51,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 64.8% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $242.00 price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group set a $250.00 target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $190.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $246.71.

Insider Activity at Asbury Automotive Group

In related news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 948 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.28, for a total value of $237,265.44. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,817,902.52. This represents a 7.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of ABG opened at $215.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a PE ratio of 8.04, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.71. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $172.01 and a 12 month high of $262.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $214.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.31 by $0.51. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 2.83%.The company had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.43 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.43 EPS for the current year.

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.