Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $437.67.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens assumed 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 for the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total value of $2,560,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,013,899.56. The trade was a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,340,928.59. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 156,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,701,000 after purchasing an additional 3,507 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at approximately $272,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 8.2% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 305,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,080,000 after buying an additional 1,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 244.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,573,000 after acquiring an additional 39,982 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

GPI opened at $411.01 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $395.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $356.99. Group 1 Automotive has a 52-week low of $255.73 and a 52-week high of $440.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 1.35.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $12.07 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.01%.

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.