Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $466.5714.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays set a $470.00 price objective on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $370.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Evercore started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,966,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 20.3% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 37,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,143,000 after buying an additional 6,239 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the first quarter worth $229,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 6.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,993,000 after buying an additional 2,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 1,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $822,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE:GPI opened at $331.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $378.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $412.39. The stock has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 0.90. Group 1 Automotive has a 1-year low of $324.49 and a 1-year high of $488.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.36 by ($0.87). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 17.39%. The business had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $10.02 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 11th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 10.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.80%.

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.