Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong Sell”

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

GPI has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (down from $400.00) on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $338.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Group 1 Automotive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $380.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Seaport Research Partners set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $400.22.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of GPI stock opened at $265.62 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $307.00 and a 200 day moving average of $324.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.82. Group 1 Automotive has a 1-year low of $261.13 and a 1-year high of $488.39.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.60 by ($0.99). The firm had revenue of $5.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.66 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 15.66%. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 39.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 54.9% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 79 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 881.8% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 108 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 118 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.