Magnolia Group LLC Purchases 44,500 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Magnolia Group LLC grew its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 18.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 282,623 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,500 shares during the period. Asbury Automotive Group makes up 11.0% of Magnolia Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Magnolia Group LLC’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $69,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABG. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 69.2% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 64.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 206 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 104.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 700.0% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $275.00 to $251.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $250.57.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABG opened at $243.88 on Tuesday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.68 and a 12-month high of $312.56. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $236.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.08. The firm has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of 8.55 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $7.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.80 by $0.37. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 15.26% and a net margin of 3.15%.The business had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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.