Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Shares Sold by LSV Asset Management

LSV Asset Management trimmed its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 8.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,462 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,350 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned 0.92% of Group 1 Automotive worth $50,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. MAI Capital Management grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 131.3% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 74 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the second quarter valued at $43,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 25.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter valued at $131,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $333.56 on Friday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. 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 P/E ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock 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 issued 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). The business had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 17.00%. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $10.02 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GPI shares. Morgan Stanley set a $460.00 target price on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings cut Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $410.00 to $370.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Evercore started 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $466.57.

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.