WCM Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 15,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,049,000. WCM Investment Management LLC owned 0.13% of Group 1 Automotive at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Evercore set a $440.00 price objective on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $426.89.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 6.0%

GPI stock opened at $306.49 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $312.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $335.44. The company has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.70, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.83. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $279.10 and a 12-month high of $488.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.82 by ($0.16). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.40%.

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.