Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 153,445 Shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 80.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,141 shares of the company’s stock after selling 153,445 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.18% of Asbury Automotive Group worth $8,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $804,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Asbury Automotive Group during the 2nd quarter worth $760,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the third quarter worth $1,223,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the third quarter worth $154,270,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the third quarter valued at about $2,393,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ABG. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley upgraded 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 note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.20.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ABG opened at $244.72 on Monday. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $195.09 and a 1 year high of $277.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $251.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $240.86.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $6.35 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $4.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.12 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.