Quantbot Technologies LP Invests $657,000 in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $657,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 319.2% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 69.2% during the 2nd 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Asbury Automotive Group

In related news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 948 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.28, for a total value of $237,265.44. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,817,902.52. This trade represents a 7.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ABG. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $242.00 price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $246.71.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABG opened at $210.47 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $213.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $205.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of 7.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.71. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $172.01 and a fifty-two week high of $263.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.91.

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. The firm had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.49 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 2.83%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.43 EPS for the current fiscal 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.