Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $260.16 and last traded at $260.4520, with a volume of 19638 shares. The stock had previously closed at $266.11.

Group 1 Automotive News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Group 1 Automotive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks raised its Q1 2028 EPS forecast to $9.42 from $5.97 and its Q2 2027 forecast to $8.40 from $7.53, indicating some improvement in expectations for those periods. Group 1 Automotive stock information
• Neutral Sentiment: The analyst’s revised estimates imply full-year EPS of $38.63 for fiscal 2026, $44.48 for fiscal 2027 and $48.98 for fiscal 2028. The current-year estimate remains near the broader consensus of $39.37 per share. Group 1 Automotive stock information
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks cut its FY2026 EPS forecast to $38.63 from $41.10, FY2027 to $44.48 from $47.57 and FY2028 to $48.98 from $51.86. It also lowered Q3 2026, Q4 2026, Q1 2027, Q3 2027, Q4 2027 and Q2 2028 estimates, including a reduction in Q2 2028 EPS to $8.42 from $9.80. Group 1 Automotive stock information
• Negative Sentiment: The cautious forecast revisions follow Group 1 Automotive’s latest quarterly results, which missed analyst expectations on both earnings and revenue, with revenue down 5.6% year over year. The company’s shares are also trading well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, reinforcing the weak market sentiment.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Group 1 Automotive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $320.00 in a report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group cut their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $338.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners set a $420.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $400.22.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $304.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $322.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.60 by ($0.99). The company had revenue of $5.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.66 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $10.82 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 9.16%.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 366,770.5% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 25,431,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,002,195,000 after buying an additional 25,424,532 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth approximately $593,420,000. Conifer Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth approximately $281,561,390,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $98,125,000. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at approximately $72,098,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.