967,000 Shares in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Purchased by Conifer Management L.L.C.

Conifer Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 967,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $281,561,390,000. Group 1 Automotive makes up 46.4% of Conifer Management L.L.C.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Conifer Management L.L.C. owned about 0.08% of Group 1 Automotive at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,966,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 37,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,143,000 after purchasing an additional 6,239 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position 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 raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 6.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,993,000 after purchasing an additional 2,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 46.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on GPI. Barclays lowered their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Seaport Research Partners set a $420.00 price target on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $392.44.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $259.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.02. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $296.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $317.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.82. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $249.54 and a one year high of $488.39.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.60 by ($0.99). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 1.31%.The company had revenue of $5.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.82 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 9.16%.

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.