Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.23 EPS

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $6.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.58 by ($0.23), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 16.58% and a net margin of 2.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.12 EPS.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE ABG traded up $1.57 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $229.41. 6,456 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 184,036. Asbury Automotive Group has a 12-month low of $195.09 and a 12-month high of $277.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $229.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.39. The firm has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 1.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Craig Hallum boosted their price target on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $190.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of 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, Stephens started coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $216.00 price objective for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $257.20.

Insider Activity at Asbury Automotive Group

In other Asbury Automotive Group news, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.63, for a total value of $1,884,687.39. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,008,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,211,473.87. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Asbury Automotive Group news, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.63, for a total value of $1,884,687.39. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,008,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,211,473.87. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.18, for a total transaction of $113,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 56,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,911,548.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Asbury Automotive Group

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.