Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Stake Lessened by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 16.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,624 shares of the company’s stock after selling 310 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GoodHaven Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,916,000. Magnolia Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Magnolia Group LLC now owns 149,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,241,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 52.3% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 7,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,897,000 after acquiring an additional 2,680 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 211,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,465,000 after acquiring an additional 3,273 shares in the last quarter.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Down 0.6%

ABG stock opened at $225.27 on Friday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $201.68 and a 12 month high of $312.56. The firm has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $248.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $6.82 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.84 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $4.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 16.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $236.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Craig Hallum lowered shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $258.50.

Asbury Automotive Group Profile

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. It offers a range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles; and vehicle repair and maintenance services, replacement parts, and collision repair services.