JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Price Target to $190.00

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) had its price objective reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $220.00 to $190.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on ABG. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $242.00 price objective 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 research report 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 note on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $245.29.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

ABG opened at $216.38 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.48. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.09, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.71. Asbury Automotive Group has a 1-year low of $172.01 and a 1-year high of $263.38.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.31 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.49 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 12.72%. The company’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.43 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Asbury Automotive Group

In other Asbury Automotive Group news, Director B. Christopher Disantis acquired 157 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $182.31 per share, for a total transaction of $28,622.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,166,784. This trade represents a 2.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $237,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,817,902.52. The trade was a 7.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABG. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,142,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,541,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,965,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 107.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter.

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.