Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Citigroup Analyst Says

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) had its price objective upped by Citigroup from $463.00 to $495.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on GPI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $502.00 to $426.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $454.43.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GPI opened at $449.42 on Tuesday. Group 1 Automotive has a 1 year low of $279.86 and a 1 year high of $490.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $403.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $421.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.68 by $0.49. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.09% and a net margin of 2.47%. The business had revenue of $5.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 5.61%.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total transaction of $654,184.41. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,260 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,350,008.20. The trade was a 16.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the first quarter valued at $74,499,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter worth about $65,721,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 26.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 515,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,312,000 after acquiring an additional 107,663 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,039,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 74,711.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 90,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,750,000 after purchasing an additional 90,401 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.