Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Stock Rating Upgraded by Guggenheim

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) was upgraded by Guggenheim from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a $305.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim’s target price suggests a potential upside of 15.89% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on GPI. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Group 1 Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $200.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $331.67.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 1.0 %

GPI opened at $263.17 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $272.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $273.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.17, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.42. Group 1 Automotive has a one year low of $214.25 and a one year high of $310.08.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $9.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.44 by ($0.94). The firm had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.41 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 24.36% and a net margin of 3.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.86 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 27,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,597,000 after purchasing an additional 2,755 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 55.6% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 3,257 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 14,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147 shares during the period. Aviva PLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at $727,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at $202,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Group 1 Automotive Company 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.