Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Upgraded by UBS Group to Hold Rating

UBS Group upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Benchmark upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $441.25.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $331.64 on Wednesday. Group 1 Automotive has a twelve month low of $292.44 and a twelve month high of $488.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $331.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $360.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.87.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.82 by ($0.16). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 1.46%.The business had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $10.17 EPS. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive will post 42.22 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 8.40%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 54.9% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 79 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp grew its holdings 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 valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.