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

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $6.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.58 by ($0.23), Briefing.com reports. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 2.51%. The firm had revenue of $4.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.12 EPS. Asbury Automotive Group’s revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of ABG stock traded up $1.33 on Wednesday, hitting $232.75. The stock had a trading volume of 54,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 184,449. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.58 and a beta of 1.16. Asbury Automotive Group has a 1 year low of $186.29 and a 1 year high of $277.13. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $229.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $231.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ABG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $190.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America decreased 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 report on Monday, October 14th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $216.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Craig Hallum boosted their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $257.20.

Insider Activity at Asbury Automotive Group

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

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.