Empowered Funds LLC Sells 38 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Empowered Funds LLC lowered its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 0.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,028 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $3,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 53.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 47.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $402.11 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $371.84 and its 200 day moving average is $339.02. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $255.73 and a one year high of $422.28. The firm has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $12.07 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.52 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.80.

About Group 1 Automotive

Group 1 Automotive, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates in the automotive retail industry in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company sells new and used cars, light trucks, and vehicle parts, as well as service and insurance contracts; arranges related vehicle financing; and offers automotive maintenance and repair services.