Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Research Coverage Started at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) in a research note released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on GPI. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $460.00 price target on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday, December 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $473.25.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI stock opened at $402.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $401.88 and a 200-day moving average of $425.09. The firm 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 12 month low of $355.91 and a 12 month high of $490.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

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

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

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 34.8% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 226,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,278,000 after buying an additional 58,641 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 184,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,822,000 after acquiring an additional 33,542 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter valued at about $75,315,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $70,561,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 131,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,350,000 after acquiring an additional 12,566 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by 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.