Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Short Interest Update

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Asbury Automotive Group

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,548 shares of the company’s stock worth $862,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 839 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Asbury Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth about $484,000. Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,755,000 after buying an additional 2,164 shares during the period. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 2.4% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $506,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

NYSE:ABG traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $244.72. 291,690 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 133,305. The business 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. The company has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 1.19. Asbury Automotive Group has a one year low of $195.09 and a one year high of $277.13.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Craig Hallum upped their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $255.20.

View Our Latest Research Report on Asbury Automotive Group

Asbury Automotive Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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