Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $227.50 and last traded at $227.1450, with a volume of 30,243 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $229.64.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on GPI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $275.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $330.00 to $271.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. KeyCorp set a $425.00 target price on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Evercore set a $360.00 price target on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $341.67.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.72 billion, a PE ratio of 9.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $261.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $301.33. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.60 by ($0.99). The firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.36 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 9.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 71,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $242.03 per share, for a total transaction of $17,327,411.76. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,912,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,831,548.70. This trade represents a 3.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 720,030 shares of company stock worth $187,264,264. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth about $593,420,000. Conifer Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $281,561,390. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 688,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,612,000 after purchasing an additional 10,100 shares in the last quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $72,098,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter worth about $57,174,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc is an international automotive retailer that operates franchised automobile dealerships. The company sells new and used vehicles from a range of manufacturers and provides related automotive services, including vehicle maintenance and repairs, parts and accessories, financing, and insurance products.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, Group 1 Automotive serves customers through dealership operations in the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as other international markets.