Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) by 2,744.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,295 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,144 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 484 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 43.9% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 164 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 1,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,798 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter.

Asbury Automotive Group Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of NYSE:ABG opened at $232.35 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $227.12 and a 200 day moving average of $246.09. The company has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.68 and a 12-month high of $312.56.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $6.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.84 by ($0.02). Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 2.50%. The business had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $7.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 26.28 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $325.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Craig Hallum lowered shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Asbury Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $236.00 price target for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $261.83.

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.