Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Trading Down 4.8% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) fell 4.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $187.48 and last traded at $185.8010. 131,939 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 242,536 shares. The stock had previously closed at $195.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on ABG shares. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $242.00 target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group set a $250.00 price objective on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on 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, Citigroup raised their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $237.83.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $215.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $204.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 6.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.71.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.31 by $0.51. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 12.72%. The company had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.43 EPS. Asbury Automotive Group’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Asbury Automotive Group

In other news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 948 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABG. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $593,499,000. Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter worth approximately $3,208,000. Fieldview Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,336,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $8,884,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 13,382.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 21,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,110,000 after purchasing an additional 20,876 shares during the last quarter.

Asbury Automotive Group Company Profile

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc is a U.S.-based automotive retailer that sells new and used vehicles through a network of franchised dealerships. The company represents a range of domestic, import and luxury automotive brands and serves consumers in multiple markets across the United States.

In addition to vehicle sales, Asbury provides automotive maintenance and repair services, replacement parts, collision repair and other dealership-related services. Its dealerships also offer financing and insurance products, vehicle protection plans and digital tools designed to support vehicle purchasing and ownership.

Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, Asbury has expanded through acquisitions as well as the development of its dealership portfolio.