Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Sets New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $460.00 to $400.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Group 1 Automotive traded as low as $317.46 and last traded at $323.27, with a volume of 8131 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $325.74.

GPI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, January 9th. 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. Barclays set a $470.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $370.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $458.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GPI. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 25,424,532 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at about $98,125,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter worth approximately $75,315,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 968.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 84,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,931,000 after purchasing an additional 76,514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 58,641 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 0.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $369.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $407.63. The company has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.91.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.36 by ($0.87). The company had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 17.39%. Group 1 Automotive’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $10.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.80%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 11th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.