Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $437.67.

GPI has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $418.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $400.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $360.01. Group 1 Automotive has a 12 month low of $255.73 and a 12 month high of $440.32. 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 data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $12.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.01%.

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

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total value of $2,560,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. This represents a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 407,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,253,000 after acquiring an additional 232,846 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings 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 valued at $190,004,000 after purchasing an additional 115,143 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 596.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 76,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,259,000 after buying an additional 65,414 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 3,663.1% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 55,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,174,000 after buying an additional 53,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 39,982 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% 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.