Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $436.83.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $425.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total transaction of $2,560,080.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. The trade was a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.7 %

GPI opened at $447.84 on Monday. Group 1 Automotive has a one year low of $255.73 and a one year high of $449.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $422.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $375.68.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $12.07 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.36 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About Group 1 Automotive

Group 1 Automotive, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates in the automotive retail industry in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company sells new and used cars, light trucks, and vehicle parts, as well as service and insurance contracts; arranges related vehicle financing; and offers automotive maintenance and repair services.