Tidal Investments LLC Invests $272,000 in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $272,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 17.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GPI. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com raised Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Stephens began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $437.67.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 1.8 %

GPI opened at $426.18 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $401.40 and a 200-day moving average of $360.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $255.73 and a 1-year high of $440.32.

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

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

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

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.