Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Coverage Initiated at Bank of America

Research analysts at Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) in a research note issued on Wednesday. The brokerage set a “buy” rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on GPI. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $370.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Barclays set a $470.00 price target on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $458.00.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI opened at $323.79 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $366.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $406.49. Group 1 Automotive has a 12-month low of $306.96 and a 12-month high of $488.39. The firm has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.36 by ($0.87). The business had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 17.39% and a net margin of 1.44%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $10.02 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 11th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 366,770.5% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 25,431,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,002,195,000 after buying an additional 25,424,532 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth $98,125,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at $75,315,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 968.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 84,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,931,000 after acquiring an additional 76,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 34.8% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 226,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,278,000 after purchasing an additional 58,641 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Company 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.