Sage Rhino Capital LLC Makes New $206,000 Investment in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Sage Rhino Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter worth $36,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter worth $46,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $450.94 on Tuesday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $258.77 and a twelve month high of $490.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company’s 50 day moving average is $447.53 and its 200 day moving average is $406.44. The company has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 1.36.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.09%. Research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at $42,013,899.56. This represents a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim increased 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $460.33.

Group 1 Automotive 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.