HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,263 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,064 shares during the quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $13,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 54.9% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 79 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 881.8% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 108 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 118 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.0%

GPI opened at $325.07 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. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $292.44 and a fifty-two week high of $488.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $331.07 and its 200 day moving average is $354.29. The stock has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.81.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $10.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 8.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GPI. Benchmark upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $338.00 target price on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $441.25.

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.