Citigroup Inc. Increases Stock Position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 23.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,917 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,603 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.28% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $13,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABG. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 100.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter worth about $155,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $190,000.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock opened at $260.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.71 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $195.09 and a 12 month high of $277.13. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $239.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $236.62.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $6.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.58 by ($0.23). Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 2.16%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.30 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $8.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $190.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com raised Asbury Automotive Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Craig Hallum upped their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens started coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $216.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Asbury Automotive Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $256.20.

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.