Hodges Capital Management Inc. Has $8.20 Million Stock Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Hodges Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 7.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,772 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,595 shares during the quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $8,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GPI. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the first quarter worth $29,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 90.5% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 80 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 25.8% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the first quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter worth about $115,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, 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 value of $3,285,380.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 82,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,939,731.78. The trade was a 7.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI opened at $390.67 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.91. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $355.91 and a one year high of $490.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $438.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $436.66.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $10.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.64 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $5.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.67 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPI has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $474.43.

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.