Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $1.22 EPS

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $7.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.04 by $1.22, Zacks reports. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.16% and a return on equity of 16.51%.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABG traded up $25.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $299.50. 167,562 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 170,545. Asbury Automotive Group has a twelve month low of $195.09 and a twelve month high of $307.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $252.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $242.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $5.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76 and a beta of 1.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised Asbury Automotive Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Craig Hallum boosted their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Asbury Automotive Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $255.20.

About Asbury Automotive Group

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.