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

Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $458.00.

Several brokerages have recently commented on GPI. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Bank of America began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, January 9th. Barclays set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Evercore began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $308.03 on Friday. Group 1 Automotive has a 52-week low of $292.44 and a 52-week high of $488.39. The company has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $350.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $396.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.08.

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

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $0.55 dividend. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.80%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GPI. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2,840.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $612,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 151,578 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,616,000 after purchasing an additional 7,501 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 1,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 118.8% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 47,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,784,000 after purchasing an additional 25,932 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.