Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Guggenheim lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $485.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $479.43.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of GPI opened at $442.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.83. Group 1 Automotive has a 1 year low of $336.33 and a 1 year high of $490.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $437.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $429.70.

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

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total transaction of $219,439.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,343.84. This trade represents a 98.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 3,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $441.71, for a total value of $1,325,130.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 16,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,365,072.54. This represents a 15.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 211.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 71.8% during the 2nd quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 5,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,393,000 after purchasing an additional 2,291 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth about $662,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 812 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 4,439 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,938,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

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.