Woodson Capital Management LP Purchases 2,000 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Woodson Capital Management LP grew its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. Group 1 Automotive makes up about 4.8% of Woodson Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Woodson Capital Management LP owned 0.46% of Group 1 Automotive worth $26,251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GPI. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 2.2% in the second quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,022 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 25.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI opened at $397.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $5.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $400.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $427.08. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $355.91 and a 1 year high of $490.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $10.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.64 by ($0.19). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The firm had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.90 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.00%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 11th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on GPI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $510.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $472.29.

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.