5,200 Shares in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 5,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,719,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 177.2% in the 3rd quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 9,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,369,000 after acquiring an additional 6,384 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 184,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,822,000 after purchasing an additional 33,542 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,538,000. Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 784.5% in the third quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 4,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,927,000 after purchasing an additional 3,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2,053.8% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 51,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,403,000 after buying an additional 49,559 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:GPI opened at $286.96 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $324.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $344.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.95. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $284.37 and a 52 week high of $488.39.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.82 by ($0.16). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 1.46%.The business had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $10.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 42.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $338.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $441.25.

Group 1 Automotive Profile

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.