Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $338.90 and last traded at $341.4320, with a volume of 205414 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $357.84.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $460.00 price objective on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Barclays set a $470.00 target price on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $472.29.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $397.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $419.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.36 by ($0.87). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The business had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $10.02 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is 8.00%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 10.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 366,770.5% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 25,431,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,002,195,000 after acquiring an additional 25,424,532 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 34.8% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 226,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,278,000 after acquiring an additional 58,641 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 22.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 184,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,822,000 after purchasing an additional 33,542 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at about $75,315,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter worth about $70,561,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

About Group 1 Automotive

Group 1 Automotive, Inc (NYSE: GPI) is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company operates an extensive network of franchised dealerships, offering new and pre-owned vehicles from leading domestic and import manufacturers. In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides a full complement of aftersales services, including finance and insurance products, parts distribution, collision repair centers and vehicle maintenance.

Founded in 1997, Group 1 Automotive has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a presence across the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.