Highland Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 888 Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the second quarter worth $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 34.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 52.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Seaport Res Ptn cut Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Craig Hallum increased their price objective 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, October 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America decreased their price target 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $260.00 to $255.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.20.

Asbury Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABG opened at $296.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.20. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $254.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $243.28. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $195.09 and a 1 year high of $312.56.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $6.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.58 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $4.24 billion for 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%. Asbury Automotive Group’s revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $8.12 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.07 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.