Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $392.4444.

GPI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore set a $360.00 price target on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Zacks Research lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $425.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, July 10th.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 6.2%

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $301.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.82. Group 1 Automotive has a 12 month low of $249.54 and a 12 month high of $488.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $289.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $313.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.60 by ($0.99). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The firm had revenue of $5.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.82 earnings per share. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.16%.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. bought 26,561 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $276.03 per share, with a total value of $7,331,632.83. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,222,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $337,408,030.80. This trade represents a 2.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GPI. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 366,770.5% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 25,431,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,002,195,000 after acquiring an additional 25,424,532 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 25,782.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,867,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,126,217,000 after purchasing an additional 3,852,958 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at $593,420,000. Conifer Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth $281,561,390. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth $98,125,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.