Brokerages Set Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Price Target at $437.67

Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $437.67.

A number of brokerages have commented on GPI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total transaction of $2,560,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,013,899.56. This trade represents a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 3,832 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 2.9% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 1.2 %

GPI opened at $419.99 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $398.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $358.86. Group 1 Automotive has a 1-year low of $255.73 and a 1-year high of $440.32. The company has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $12.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.