Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Given New $230.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $230.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on ABG. Citigroup upped their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $242.00 price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. 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 research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $246.71.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of ABG stock opened at $214.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $209.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $208.52. Asbury Automotive Group has a one year low of $172.01 and a one year high of $263.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.43 earnings per share. Asbury Automotive Group’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.03 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Asbury Automotive Group news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 948 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.28, for a total value of $237,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,817,902.52. The trade was a 7.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director B. Christopher Disantis purchased 157 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $182.31 per share, with a total value of $28,622.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,166,784. The trade was a 2.51% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ABG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $593,499,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter worth $4,344,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter worth $34,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the second quarter worth $27,142,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the second quarter worth $1,541,000.

Asbury Automotive Group Company 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.