Aigen Investment Management LP Purchases 283 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Aigen Investment Management LP grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,650 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 283 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 53.7% in the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 47.5% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 270 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GPI. Bank of America cut their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.80.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 2.9 %

GPI opened at $417.64 on Thursday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $255.73 and a 1-year high of $421.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s 50 day moving average is $369.76 and its 200-day moving average is $337.08.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $12.07 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates in the automotive retail industry in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company sells new and used cars, light trucks, and vehicle parts, as well as service and insurance contracts; arranges related vehicle financing; and offers automotive maintenance and repair services.