Should You Buy Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (ABG)?

As industrywide interest jumped, specific money managers have jumped into Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) headfirst. Tourbillon Capital Partners, managed by Jason Karp, initiated the biggest position in Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG). According to its latest 13F filing, the fund had $69.1 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Karp and Tourbillon Capital Partners have also stockpiled $17.3 million worth of call options during the quarter. The following funds were among the new ABG investors as well: Charles Davidson’s Wexford Capital, Andrew Sandler’s Sandler Capital Management, and Jonathan Lennon’s Pleasant Lake Partners.

Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) but similarly valued. These stocks are Teekay Corporation (NYSE:TK), CyrusOne Inc (NASDAQ:CONE), Monro Muffler Brake Inc (NASDAQ:MNRO), and WP Glimcher Inc (NYSE:WPG). This group of stocks’ market values match ABG’s market value.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 17 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $221 million. Teekay Corporation (NYSE:TK) is the most popular stock in this table, while WP Glimcher Inc (NYSE:WPG) and Monro Muffler Brake Inc (NASDAQ:MNRO) are lagging behind with only 16 bullish hedge fund positions. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG) wins this popularity contest, as it is present in the portfolios of 27 top funds at the end of the quarter and having also attracted $808 million in investments. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.