Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $306.73 and last traded at $308.37, with a volume of 33433 shares. The stock had previously closed at $318.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GPI. Bank of America assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $370.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Barclays set a $470.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $458.00.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $364.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $404.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is 8.80%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 11th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 10.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 25,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,209,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 10.6% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 131,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,350,000 after buying an additional 12,566 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 778.3% during the second quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 5,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,301,000 after buying an additional 4,670 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 8.4% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 48,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,226,000 after buying an additional 3,766 shares during the period. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at $506,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.