Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Price Target Raised to $250.00

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) had its price target boosted by Morgan Stanley from $232.00 to $250.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $271.00 to $259.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Citigroup cut their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $387.00 to $357.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $425.00 price objective on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $330.10.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

NYSE:GPI opened at $269.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $255.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $302.19. Group 1 Automotive has a 1-year low of $224.65 and a 1-year high of $429.00. The firm has a market cap of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.96.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $9.36 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.50 by ($0.14). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 1.75%. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $10.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive will post 37.14 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.96%.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. bought 133,472 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $243.58 per share, with a total value of $32,511,109.76. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,772,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $431,635,939. The trade was a 8.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders bought 820,030 shares of company stock valued at $211,496,571. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GPI. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 117,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,231,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 75.9% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 71,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,414,000 after acquiring an additional 30,669 shares in the last quarter. South Dakota Investment Council raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.2% during the third quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 20,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,966,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,932,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 17.9% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Group 1 Automotive

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1997, the company operates franchised dealerships and collision centers in the United States and the United Kingdom. Its dealerships sell new and used vehicles from a range of manufacturers and provide related services, including vehicle maintenance and repair, parts sales, collision repair, and automotive financing and insurance products. Group 1’s business also includes manufacturer-authorized service operations and parts departments that support customers throughout vehicle ownership.