JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 22.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 184,732 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 33,542 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 1.46% of Group 1 Automotive worth $80,822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Keybank National Association OH acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth about $335,000. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 25,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,209,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 133.8% in the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 2,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after buying an additional 1,702 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 778.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 5,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,301,000 after buying an additional 4,670 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,543,000 after buying an additional 1,505 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $331.77 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 0.90. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $324.49 and a 1 year high of $488.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $378.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $412.39.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.36 by ($0.87). The business had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $10.02 EPS. Analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.80%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 10.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GPI shares. Evercore initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $370.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $466.57.

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.