Cooke & Bieler LP Makes New Investment in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. $ABG

Cooke & Bieler LP acquired a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 378,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,167,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABG. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the second quarter valued at $36,000. Daytona Street Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the third quarter valued at $32,000. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the fourth quarter valued at $54,000.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

ABG opened at $163.80 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $192.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $199.84. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.30 and a 52 week high of $258.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of 6.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.78.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.31 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.49 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 12.72%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.43 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 25.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jed Milstein sold 948 shares of Asbury Automotive Group 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,817,902.52. The trade was a 7.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ABG shares. Barclays reiterated a “reduce” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $184.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $250.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Asbury Automotive Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $214.00.

Asbury Automotive Group Company Profile

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc is a U.S.-based automotive retailer that operates franchised and independent dealerships. Its dealerships sell new and used vehicles from a range of domestic, import and luxury automobile brands, and provide related services throughout the vehicle ownership cycle.

The company’s operations include automotive repair and maintenance, parts and accessories, collision repair, vehicle financing and insurance products, and other dealership services. Asbury also supports vehicle sales and service through digital retailing and online customer tools.

Founded in 1995, Asbury has expanded through acquisitions and serves customers across multiple markets in the United States.