Intech Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Intech Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,458 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,032 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $1,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Abrams Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 2.2% in the third 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 period. Eminence Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 36.0% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Timucuan Asset Management Inc. FL grew its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 1.5% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the second quarter worth $77,544,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ABG shares. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “reduce” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $230.00 price objective on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Monday, December 8th. Zacks Research cut Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Bank of America began coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Asbury Automotive Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $247.57.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

NYSE ABG opened at $207.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $233.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $237.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.28 and a beta of 0.81. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.68 and a fifty-two week high of $274.50.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $6.67 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.70 by ($0.03). Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 14.51% and a net margin of 2.73%.The company had revenue of $4.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% 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.

Asbury Automotive Group 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.