Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) shares gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $251.44, but opened at $242.19. Asbury Automotive Group shares last traded at $242.6570, with a volume of 81,304 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ABG shares. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Zacks Research lowered Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $250.57.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.99. The business’s 50-day moving average is $234.34 and its 200-day moving average is $240.18. The company has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a PE ratio of 8.51 and a beta of 0.82.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $7.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.80 by $0.37. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 15.26%. The business had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.35 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Asbury Automotive Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ABG. Abrams Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Abrams Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,155,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,910,000 after purchasing an additional 46,952 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,104,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $269,906,000 after buying an additional 5,757 shares during the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 36.0% during the second quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 1,002,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,055,000 after buying an additional 265,539 shares during the last quarter. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL increased its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1.5% during the second quarter. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL now owns 724,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,723,000 after acquiring an additional 10,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 472,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,717,000 after acquiring an additional 3,437 shares during the last quarter.

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.