Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $338.90 and last traded at $341.4320, with a volume of 205414 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $357.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GPI. Morgan Stanley set a $460.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $472.29.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 4.6%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $397.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $419.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 0.90.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.36 by ($0.87). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 1.44%.The firm had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $10.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.00%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 10.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Keybank National Association OH acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the second quarter valued at approximately $335,000. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 25,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,209,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 133.8% during the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 2,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,299,000 after acquiring an additional 1,702 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3.5% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,543,000 after purchasing an additional 1,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 778.3% during the second quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 5,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,301,000 after purchasing an additional 4,670 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

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.