Woodson Capital Management LP Sells 9,000 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Woodson Capital Management LP cut its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,000 shares during the period. Group 1 Automotive makes up about 4.7% of Woodson Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Woodson Capital Management LP’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $28,661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Shellback Capital LP boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 92,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,787,000 after buying an additional 12,025 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 44.5% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 3,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,680,000 after buying an additional 1,227 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 1,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $503,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter worth about $499,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,178,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Guggenheim cut Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $454.43.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $440.68 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $404.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $424.46. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $279.86 and a 1-year high of $490.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.68 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $5.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.37 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.49 EPS. Analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 5.61%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 sale, the vice president now owns 8,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,350,008.20. The trade was a 16.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.