BNP Paribas Financial Markets Buys 7,598 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 25.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,917 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,598 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $14,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GPI. Signaturefd LLC increased 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 881.8% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on GPI. Citigroup upped their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Benchmark upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $441.25.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of GPI opened at $311.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $331.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $356.63. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $292.44 and a 52-week high of $488.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.81.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.82 by ($0.16). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The business had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $10.17 earnings per share. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 42.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 8.40%.

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.