Barclays Cuts Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Price Target to $435.00

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) had its price objective lowered by Barclays from $470.00 to $435.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

GPI has been the subject of several other research reports. Evercore set a $440.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $338.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.89.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE GPI opened at $325.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.45, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $313.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $336.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.95. Group 1 Automotive has a 52 week low of $279.10 and a 52 week high of $488.39.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.82 by ($0.16). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 1.46%.The firm had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $10.17 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 41.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.40%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 54.9% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 79 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 881.8% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 108 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.