Bayforest Capital Ltd Buys Shares of 968 Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 968 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $370,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth $65,721,000. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 515,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,312,000 after buying an additional 107,663 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the first quarter worth approximately $36,039,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 74,711.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 90,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,750,000 after buying an additional 90,401 shares during the period. Finally, Advent International L.P. raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 203,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,961,000 after acquiring an additional 80,870 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $441.71, for a total transaction of $1,325,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 16,674 shares in the company, valued at $7,365,072.54. This represents a 15.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total transaction of $219,439.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8 shares in the company, valued at $3,343.84. The trade was a 98.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $410.51 on Friday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $326.91 and a 12 month high of $490.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $436.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $431.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.31 by $1.21. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.10% and a net margin of 2.18%. The business had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 5.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $510.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Guggenheim lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup raised their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $470.14.

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.