Hodges Capital Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Hodges Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 30.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 13,345 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,914 shares during the quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $5,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 366,770.5% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 25,431,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,002,195,000 after purchasing an additional 25,424,532 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $98,125,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 34.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 226,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,278,000 after purchasing an additional 58,641 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 22.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 184,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,822,000 after purchasing an additional 33,542 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 12.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 111,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,822,000 after purchasing an additional 12,779 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 0.2%

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $327.75 on Thursday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $292.44 and a twelve month high of $488.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $331.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $355.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on GPI shares. Benchmark raised Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $338.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $441.25.

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.