Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $473.25.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GPI shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Keybank National Association OH bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter worth about $335,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.7% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 25,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,209,000 after buying an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 133.8% in the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 2,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after acquiring an additional 1,702 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 3.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,543,000 after acquiring an additional 1,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 778.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 5,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,301,000 after acquiring an additional 4,670 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI stock opened at $402.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.06. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $401.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $425.09. The company has a market capitalization of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.09 and a beta of 0.89. Group 1 Automotive has a 52-week low of $355.91 and a 52-week high of $490.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $10.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.64 by ($0.19). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The company had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $9.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.00%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has approved 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 purchase up to 10.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.