Quantbot Technologies LP Has $8.23 Million Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 3,454.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,803 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,274 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $8,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at $26,000. MAI Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 131.3% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 74 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 25.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 21.9% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 301 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GPI shares. Barclays set a $470.00 price objective on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $370.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $466.57.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 2.7%

GPI stock opened at $325.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $372.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $409.99. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $324.49 and a 1-year high of $488.39.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.36 by ($0.87). The business had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 17.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $10.02 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 8.00%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 10.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Company 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.