Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Decreases Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP lessened its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,742 shares of the company’s stock after selling 995 shares during the period. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $1,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 131.3% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 74 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 90.5% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 80 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the second quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 25.8% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday. 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. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $560.00 to $545.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $478.88.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $403.67 on Friday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $355.91 and a 1-year high of $490.09. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $417.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $434.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.91.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $10.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.64 by ($0.19). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 1.67%.The company had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.00%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 10.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.