GAMMA Investing LLC Raises Stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 59.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 377 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 60.3% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 24.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at about $87,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI stock opened at $436.70 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $447.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $430.90. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $344.38 and a 52 week high of $490.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.65 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 18.10%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on GPI. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $560.00 to $545.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $476.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total value of $219,439.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 8 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,343.84. This trade represents a 98.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total transaction of $3,285,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 82,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,939,731.78. The trade was a 7.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.