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

Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $436.83.

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $425.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.7 %

GPI stock opened at $447.84 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Group 1 Automotive has a twelve month low of $255.73 and a twelve month high of $449.58. The company’s 50 day moving average is $422.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $376.85.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.87 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.49%. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $12.07 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,340,928.59. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total value of $2,560,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at $42,013,899.56. This represents a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,004,000 after purchasing an additional 115,143 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 541,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,518,000 after acquiring an additional 10,969 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 407,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,253,000 after acquiring an additional 232,846 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 0.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 305,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 156,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,701,000 after purchasing an additional 3,507 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates in the automotive retail industry in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company sells new and used cars, light trucks, and vehicle parts, as well as service and insurance contracts; arranges related vehicle financing; and offers automotive maintenance and repair services.