$8.88 Earnings Per Share Expected for Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) This Quarter

Wall Street analysts expect Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG – Get Rating) to announce earnings of $8.88 per share for the current quarter, according to Zacks. Four analysts have issued estimates for Asbury Automotive Group’s earnings. The lowest EPS estimate is $7.40 and the highest is $9.80. Asbury Automotive Group posted earnings per share of $7.78 during the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year over year growth rate of 14.1%. The business is expected to issue its next earnings report on Monday, January 1st.

On average, analysts expect that Asbury Automotive Group will report full-year earnings of $35.01 per share for the current year, with EPS estimates ranging from $29.94 to $37.45. For the next fiscal year, analysts expect that the business will report earnings of $32.45 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $27.25 to $36.78. Zacks Investment Research’s earnings per share calculations are a mean average based on a survey of analysts that cover Asbury Automotive Group.

Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 28th. The company reported $9.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.94 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.91 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a return on equity of 39.72% and a net margin of 5.86%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 78.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.68 EPS.

ABG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Craig Hallum decreased their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $250.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 16th. Zacks Investment Research raised Asbury Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Asbury Automotive Group from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 8th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Asbury Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Asbury Automotive Group from $225.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Asbury Automotive Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.00.

Shares of ABG stock traded up $12.32 on Friday, hitting $191.98. The company had a trading volume of 265,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 230,930. The firm has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $173.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.14. Asbury Automotive Group has a twelve month low of $146.43 and a twelve month high of $230.96.

In related news, SVP Miran Maric sold 233 shares of Asbury Automotive Group stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.79, for a total transaction of $43,755.07. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Hult sold 23,848 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.81, for a total value of $4,669,676.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 0.3% during the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 17,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,729,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 2.0% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 0.3% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 24,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,841,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. National Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 4.0% during the first quarter. National Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Asbury Automotive Group by 1.2% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period.

Asbury Automotive Group Company Profile (Get Rating)

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.

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