Brokerages Set Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) PT at $478.00

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $478.00.

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Zacks Research cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $430.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total value of $219,439.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8 shares in the company, valued at $3,343.84. This trade represents a 98.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total transaction of $3,285,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 82,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,939,731.78. This trade represents a 7.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GPI. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 95.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 237 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 315.5% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 24.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 68.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,799,000 after buying an additional 5,091 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,292,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 1.1%

GPI stock opened at $450.47 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.85. Group 1 Automotive has a 12 month low of $344.38 and a 12 month high of $490.09. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $452.59 and its 200 day moving average is $435.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.31 by $1.21. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.18% and a return on equity of 18.10%. The company had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.51%.

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.