Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Price Target Lowered to $370.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $410.00 to $370.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on GPI. Evercore began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays set a $470.00 target price on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $466.57.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE:GPI opened at $334.74 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $392.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $417.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Group 1 Automotive has a 1-year low of $331.59 and a 1-year high of $490.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 earnings per share 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 net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.02 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 366,770.5% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 25,431,464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,002,195,000 after buying an additional 25,424,532 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at about $98,125,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 34.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 226,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,278,000 after purchasing an additional 58,641 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 22.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 184,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,822,000 after purchasing an additional 33,542 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth about $75,315,000. 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.