JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Price Target to $370.00

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) had its target price cut by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $410.00 to $370.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 10.47% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings cut Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Barclays set a $470.00 price target on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Evercore initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $466.57.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE GPI traded down $3.48 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $334.92. The company had a trading volume of 89,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 193,830. Group 1 Automotive has a 1-year low of $331.59 and a 1-year high of $490.09. The company has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a PE ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $394.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $418.26.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.36 by ($0.87). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $10.02 EPS. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 11th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 54.9% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 79 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 131.3% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 74 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 881.8% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 108 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth about $43,000. 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.