Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,517 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,766 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.38% of Group 1 Automotive worth $21,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 3,563.9% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,174 shares in the last quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. now owns 2,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 10.6% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 131,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,350,000 after purchasing an additional 12,566 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 58.7% during the third quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $532,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 1.1% during the third quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 12,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,393,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $410.00 to $370.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Evercore initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Five equities research 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $466.57.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI stock opened at $333.56 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 0.90. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $328.85 and a one year high of $490.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $388.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $415.77.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $10.02 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is presently 8.00%.

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.