Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,370,000 shares, an increase of 12.9% from the September 15th total of 2,100,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 203,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 11.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Asbury Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $190.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Asbury Automotive Group from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Stephens initiated coverage on 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. Bank of America decreased their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $251.20.

Insider Transactions 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 transaction of $1,884,687.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.63, for a total transaction 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.18, for a total transaction of $113,590.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Asbury Automotive Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Asbury Automotive Group by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,319,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $521,771,000 after acquiring an additional 10,656 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 147.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 18,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,063,000 after purchasing an additional 10,737 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $162,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $319,000.

Asbury Automotive Group Price Performance

NYSE ABG opened at $234.99 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $229.85 and its 200 day moving average is $231.06. Asbury Automotive Group has a fifty-two week low of $178.40 and a fifty-two week high of $277.13. The company has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of 8.56 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 1.25.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $6.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.31 by ($0.91). Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 2.51%. The firm had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.95 earnings per share. Asbury Automotive Group’s quarterly revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group will post 26.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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.