Captrust Financial Advisors Takes Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at $3,286,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 8.3% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 40,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,052,000 after acquiring an additional 3,095 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 25.8% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 10,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,899,000 after acquiring an additional 2,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 327.0% in the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 15,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,596,000 after acquiring an additional 11,839 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GPI. Stephens began 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. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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 raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $437.67.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of GPI opened at $427.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $255.73 and a 12 month high of $440.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $393.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $356.21.

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

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.