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

Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $426.8889.

Several analysts have recently commented on GPI shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, June 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, DA Davidson set a $425.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, July 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 366,770.5% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 25,431,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,002,195,000 after purchasing an additional 25,424,532 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter worth about $98,125,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 968.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 84,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,931,000 after acquiring an additional 76,514 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 2,053.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 51,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,403,000 after purchasing an additional 49,559 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the second quarter valued at approximately $17,959,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 3.5%

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $330.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $314.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $336.63. Group 1 Automotive has a 1-year low of $279.10 and a 1-year high of $488.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted 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). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 1.46%.The business had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $10.17 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive will post 41.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 8.40%.

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.