HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Has $2.47 Million Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 45.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,436 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,271 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $2,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,004,000 after acquiring an additional 115,143 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 407,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,253,000 after buying an additional 232,846 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 152,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,576,000 after buying an additional 1,735 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 108,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,255,000 after buying an additional 16,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shellback Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 27.1% in the 2nd quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 95,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,331,000 after acquiring an additional 20,302 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on GPI. Guggenheim increased their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $425.20.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI stock opened at $428.13 on Tuesday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $255.73 and a 12 month high of $440.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $383.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $347.81.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $12.07 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

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.