Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $437.67.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GPI. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $426.18 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 1.35. Group 1 Automotive has a fifty-two week low of $255.73 and a fifty-two week high of $440.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $401.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $360.87.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.87 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $12.07 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.37 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 5.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total transaction of $2,560,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,013,899.56. The trade was a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GPI. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 47.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates in the automotive retail industry in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company sells new and used cars, light trucks, and vehicle parts, as well as service and insurance contracts; arranges related vehicle financing; and offers automotive maintenance and repair services.