Royce & Associates LP Sells 38,476 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Royce & Associates LP decreased its position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 38.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,747 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,476 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.32% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $14,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 3.2% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 2.9% in the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 3,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $938,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the third quarter worth $261,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 18.2% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 1,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 51.8% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $601,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ABG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Asbury Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $190.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Craig Hallum raised their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $216.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $256.20.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

NYSE ABG opened at $258.18 on Friday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a one year low of $195.09 and a one year high of $277.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $233.22 and a 200 day moving average of $234.38. The company has a market capitalization of $5.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.20.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $6.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.58 by ($0.23). Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 2.16%. The business had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.12 earnings per share. Asbury Automotive Group’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 25.37 EPS for the current year.

Asbury Automotive Group Profile

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. It offers a range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles; and vehicle repair and maintenance services, replacement parts, and collision repair services.