Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Shares Climb 7.4% – Should You Buy?

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)’s stock price traded up 7.4% during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $247.00 and last traded at $245.32. Approximately 19,191 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 199,461 shares. The stock had previously closed at $228.37.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on GPI. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Evercore set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $425.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $341.67.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 5.9%

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $259.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $299.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a PE ratio of 10.07, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.92.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.60 by ($0.99). The company had revenue of $5.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.66 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 1.31%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $10.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 9.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Group 1 Automotive news, major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. acquired 133,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $243.58 per share, with a total value of $32,511,109.76. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 1,772,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $431,635,939. The trade was a 8.15% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders acquired a total of 720,030 shares of company stock worth $187,264,264 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 104.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $234,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 112.0% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 352.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 81.4% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 26,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,621,000 after purchasing an additional 11,748 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Group 1 Automotive

Group 1 Automotive, Inc is an international automotive retailer that operates franchised automobile dealerships. The company sells new and used vehicles from a range of manufacturers and provides related automotive services, including vehicle maintenance and repairs, parts and accessories, financing, and insurance products.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, Group 1 Automotive serves customers through dealership operations in the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as other international markets.