DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Takes $157,000 Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $157,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.1% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 3,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI opened at $269.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 6.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s 50-day moving average is $272.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.73. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $214.25 and a 1 year high of $310.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.44 by ($0.94). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 24.36% and a net margin of 3.34%. The firm had revenue of $4.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $10.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, February 13th.

Group 1 Automotive Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates in the automotive retail industry in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company sells new and used cars, light trucks, and vehicle parts, as well as service and insurance contracts; arranges related vehicle financing; and offers automotive maintenance and repair services.