Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $1.49 Million Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 90.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,413 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,775 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $1,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GPI. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 17.6% during the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 12,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,268,000 after buying an additional 1,802 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 39.4% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,110,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 4.9% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 43,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,887,000 after acquiring an additional 2,039 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3.3% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the second quarter worth $702,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of GPI stock opened at $406.38 on Thursday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $355.91 and a fifty-two week high of $490.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $405.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $431.47. The company has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.22 and a beta of 0.90.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced 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). The company had revenue of $5.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.67 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 1.67%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.90 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 7.00%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 11th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 10.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on GPI shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $510.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $472.29.

Group 1 Automotive Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc (NYSE: GPI) is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company operates an extensive network of franchised dealerships, offering new and pre-owned vehicles from leading domestic and import manufacturers. In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides a full complement of aftersales services, including finance and insurance products, parts distribution, collision repair centers and vehicle maintenance.

Founded in 1997, Group 1 Automotive has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a presence across the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.