Group 1 Automotive’s (GPI) “Equal Weight” Rating Reaffirmed at Stephens

Stephens reiterated their equal weight rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $460.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on GPI. Guggenheim raised their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $425.00 to $420.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $447.83.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE GPI opened at $461.82 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57 and a beta of 1.36. Group 1 Automotive has a one year low of $255.73 and a one year high of $471.28. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $430.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $385.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 2.47%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive will post 40.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.12%.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total value of $2,560,080.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. This represents a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 32,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,533,000 after purchasing an additional 3,986 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 43,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,371,000 after buying an additional 1,025 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 498 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.