Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Invests $1.44 Million in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 4,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,436,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 78.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI opened at $264.62 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.02, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $295.34 and a 200-day moving average of $316.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $249.54 and a 12-month high of $488.39.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.60 by ($0.99). The business had revenue of $5.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.66 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $10.82 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 9.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on GPI shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Seaport Research Partners set a $420.00 target price on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research cut Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $392.44.

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.