Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Has $508,000 Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd cut its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 78.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,160 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,110 shares during the quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GPI. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 16,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,311,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 12.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,398,000 after acquiring an additional 4,255 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 6.3% in the third quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased 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 valued at $99,278,000 after acquiring an additional 58,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3,454.4% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 18,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,227,000 after acquiring an additional 18,274 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE GPI opened at $313.75 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $361.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $403.00. The company has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.91. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $306.73 and a 52 week high of $488.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 17.39% and a net margin of 1.44%.Group 1 Automotive’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $10.02 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $370.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $458.00.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.