Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Receives $458.00 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $458.00.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, January 9th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $370.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Evercore began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE GPI opened at $317.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.70, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $346.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $394.84. Group 1 Automotive has a 52 week low of $292.44 and a 52 week high of $488.39.

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

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is 8.80%.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in 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 lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 131.3% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 74 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 881.8% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at about $43,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.