Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $466.5714.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GPI. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, January 9th. Evercore assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Barclays set a $470.00 price objective on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Monday, February 2nd.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 0.7%

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $333.56 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $387.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $415.23. Group 1 Automotive has a 1-year low of $328.85 and a 1-year high of $490.09. The company has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a PE ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released 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). The business had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 1.44%.The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $10.02 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $0.55 dividend. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. 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. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.00%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 11th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 10.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3.0% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,966,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 37,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,143,000 after purchasing an additional 6,239 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $229,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,993,000 after buying an additional 2,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 1,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $822,000 after buying an additional 34 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.