J. Goldman & Co LP Purchases New Shares in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

J. Goldman & Co LP acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 23,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,722,000. J. Goldman & Co LP owned 0.13% of Asbury Automotive Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $593,499,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 3.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,156,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,977,000 after buying an additional 34,104 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 781,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,659,000 after buying an additional 9,535 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group in the fourth quarter worth about $77,963,000. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $60,592,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ABG. UBS Group set a $250.00 target price on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $220.00 to $190.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $242.00 price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $246.71.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ABG opened at $215.40 on Wednesday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $172.01 and a fifty-two week high of $263.38. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $213.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $205.75. The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.31 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.49 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 2.83%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.43 EPS. Analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Asbury Automotive Group

In other news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 948 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.28, for a total transaction of $237,265.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,817,902.52. This trade represents a 7.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.