Quantbot Technologies LP Acquires 18,274 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 3,454.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,803 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,274 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP owned approximately 0.15% of Group 1 Automotive worth $8,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake 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 worth $2,966,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 20.3% in the first 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 bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter worth approximately $229,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 6.2% during 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 worth $15,993,000 after buying an additional 2,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 3.2% during the second quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 4,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,928,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on GPI. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings cut 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 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Monday, December 8th. Evercore initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $466.57.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

GPI opened at $325.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $372.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $409.99. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $324.49 and a 1 year high of $488.39. The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 0.90.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.36 by ($0.87). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 17.39% and a net margin of 1.44%.The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $10.02 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 11th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 10.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.00%.

Group 1 Automotive 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.