Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Receives $441.25 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $441.25.

GPI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Benchmark raised Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $338.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, June 12th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. South Dakota Investment Council lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 3.0% in the first quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 25,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,363,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 85.6% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 1,515 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 23.9% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 14,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,941,000 after acquiring an additional 2,879 shares during the period. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 11.2% in the first quarter. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb L.P. now owns 4,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 74.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 39,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,964,000 after acquiring an additional 16,706 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $301.52 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.21. Group 1 Automotive has a 1 year low of $292.44 and a 1 year high of $488.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $327.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $347.96.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.82 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $10.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive will post 42.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.40%.

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.