JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Stock Price

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $410.00 to $370.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price points to a potential upside of 9.73% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on GPI. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Barclays set a $470.00 target price on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings cut Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $460.00 target price on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $466.57.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $337.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.48 and a beta of 0.90. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $391.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $416.98. Group 1 Automotive has a one year low of $331.59 and a one year high of $490.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.36 by ($0.87). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 1.44%.The company had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $10.02 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 366,770.5% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 25,431,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,002,195,000 after acquiring an additional 25,424,532 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter worth about $98,125,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position 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. grew its position 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 worth $80,822,000 after buying an additional 33,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at approximately $75,315,000. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

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.