Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Sells 5,804 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lessened its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 61.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,697 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,804 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $1,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 366,770.5% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 25,431,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,002,195,000 after purchasing an additional 25,424,532 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 688,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,612,000 after buying an additional 10,100 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 505,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,659,000 after buying an additional 7,418 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at $98,125,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 151,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,616,000 after buying an additional 7,501 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on GPI shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $380.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Friday. Evercore set a $440.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $425.00 price objective on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $420.22.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 3.2%

GPI opened at $287.18 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $313.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $331.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.95. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $274.27 and a twelve month high of $488.39. The firm has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.83.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.60 by ($0.99). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 1.31%.The firm had revenue of $5.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $10.82 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.40%.

Group 1 Automotive News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Group 1 Automotive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Group 1 agreed to acquire 10 Hennessy Automobile Companies dealerships and related real estate in Atlanta. The transaction is expected to add approximately $1.7 billion in annualized revenue and be immediately accretive to earnings per share after closing, strengthening Group 1’s dealership cluster strategy. The company also completed a $50 million annualized U.S. cost-reduction initiative. Group 1 Hennessy acquisition announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Group 1 ended the quarter with 251 dealerships across the U.S. and U.K. Management’s earnings presentation and conference call provided additional detail on operating trends, the cost-savings program and the proposed Hennessy acquisition, but the acquisition remains subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Group 1 Automotive second-quarter earnings presentation
• Negative Sentiment: Second-quarter results missed Wall Street expectations. Adjusted EPS was $9.61, below consensus estimates ranging from $10.60 to $10.79, while revenue of $5.39 billion fell short of approximately $5.66 billion. Revenue declined 5.6% year over year, and earnings were lower than the prior-year period as consumer spending softened. Net income from continuing operations fell to $103.0 million from $139.8 million. Group 1 Automotive second-quarter earnings miss
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan downgraded GPI from “overweight” to “neutral” and reduced its price target from $380 to $320. Although the revised target implies potential upside, the downgrade signals less confidence in near-term outperformance following the earnings shortfall. Benzinga report on JPMorgan’s Group 1 Automotive downgrade

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.