Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases New Holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 8,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,681,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 319.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 128 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 69.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ABG. Barclays boosted their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $212.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $220.00 target price on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Asbury Automotive Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $232.00.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABG opened at $198.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $212.53. The firm has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of 7.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.74. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a one year low of $172.01 and a one year high of $274.50.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $5.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.62 by ($0.25). Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 3.05%.The firm had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.82 earnings per share. Asbury Automotive Group’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 25.7 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director B. Christopher Disantis bought 157 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $182.31 per share, for a total transaction of $28,622.67. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,166,784. This represents a 2.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.