Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,170,000 shares, a decline of 6.5% from the December 15th total of 2,320,000 shares. Currently, 11.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 176,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 12.3 days.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Down 0.3 %

ABG traded down $0.64 on Friday, hitting $244.72. 291,690 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 133,305. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $251.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $240.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Asbury Automotive Group has a twelve month low of $195.09 and a twelve month high of $277.13. The company has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 1.19.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $6.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.58 by ($0.23). Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 16.51% and a net margin of 2.16%. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Asbury Automotive Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 801,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,204,000 after acquiring an additional 3,672 shares in the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP raised its holdings in Asbury Automotive Group by 41.5% during the second quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 498,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,603,000 after purchasing an additional 146,246 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 366.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 189,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,233,000 after buying an additional 148,910 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,573,000. Finally, GCM Grosvenor Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 250.8% in the 2nd quarter. GCM Grosvenor Holdings LLC now owns 73,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,635,000 after buying an additional 52,191 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABG has been the subject of several research reports. Craig Hallum lifted their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised Asbury Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Bank of America lowered their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Asbury Automotive Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.20.

Asbury Automotive Group Company 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.