Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG Shares Acquired by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,700 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $8,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1.3% in the first quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 4,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $900,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 1.7% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $782,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 923 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,378,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ABG shares. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $275.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Asbury Automotive Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $254.00.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

ABG opened at $232.57 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $236.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $238.82. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $201.68 and a 52-week high of $312.56. The company has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.15, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90.

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