Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Strong Sell”

Zacks Research cut shares of Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Evercore set a $360.00 price objective on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings cut Group 1 Automotive from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group cut their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $338.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners set a $420.00 price target on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $400.22.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI opened at $265.62 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.02. Group 1 Automotive has a 1 year low of $261.13 and a 1 year high of $488.39. The company’s fifty day moving average is $307.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $324.80.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.60 by ($0.99). The firm had revenue of $5.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.66 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 1.31%.The firm’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $10.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive will post 39.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 54.9% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 79 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 881.8% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 108 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 118 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc (NYSE: GPI) is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company operates an extensive network of franchised dealerships, offering new and pre-owned vehicles from leading domestic and import manufacturers. In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides a full complement of aftersales services, including finance and insurance products, parts distribution, collision repair centers and vehicle maintenance.

Founded in 1997, Group 1 Automotive has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a presence across the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.