Magnolia Group LLC Purchases 8,731 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Magnolia Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 3.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 288,004 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,731 shares during the quarter. Asbury Automotive Group comprises 10.5% of Magnolia Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Magnolia Group LLC’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $56,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 319.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 132 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Asbury Automotive Group

In related news, Director B. Christopher Disantis acquired 157 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $182.31 per share, for a total transaction of $28,622.67. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,166,784. The trade was a 2.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group started coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $202.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $212.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays increased their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $220.00 target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $232.00.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of ABG opened at $205.82 on Friday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $172.01 and a 12 month high of $274.50. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $195.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.29, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $5.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.62 by ($0.25). Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.05% and a return on equity of 13.39%. The business had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.82 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 25.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Asbury Automotive Group

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.