Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Upgraded to “Overweight” at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $430.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $285.00.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America reduced their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $360.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $394.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $396.80.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE GPI opened at $378.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.92, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $353.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $314.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Group 1 Automotive has a 52 week low of $228.84 and a 52 week high of $393.93.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $9.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.36 by $0.44. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 20.53% and a net margin of 3.03%. The company had revenue of $4.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $11.73 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive will post 39.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total transaction of $421,188.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,419,344.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,004,000 after purchasing an additional 115,143 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $46,923,000. Woodson Capital Management LP raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 114.6% during the 1st quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP now owns 142,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,643,000 after acquiring an additional 76,102 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 108,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,255,000 after acquiring an additional 16,600 shares during the period. Finally, Shellback Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 27.1% in the second quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 95,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,331,000 after purchasing an additional 20,302 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.