28,231 Shares in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Purchased by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 28,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,220,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.24% of Group 1 Automotive at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GPI. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 78.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $269.27 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $290.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $314.17. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.82. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.54 and a 52-week high of $488.39.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.66 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 1.31%.The firm’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.82 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.8%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 9.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPI has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson set a $425.00 target price on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Evercore set a $360.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $392.44.

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.