Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Trading 7.1% Higher

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)’s share price was up 7.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $304.87 and last traded at $299.37. Approximately 73,494 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 136,519 shares. The stock had previously closed at $279.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GPI shares. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $200.00 to $255.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $331.67.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $271.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $274.03.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $9.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.44 by ($0.94). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 3.34% and a return on equity of 24.36%. The company had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $10.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.41%.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,923,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,562,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,296,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 12.5% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 574,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,390,000 after acquiring an additional 63,726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covalis Capital LLP bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at approximately $16,330,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.