Public Sector Pension Investment Board Purchases 1,822 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 6.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 29,051 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,822 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $8,636,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,923,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $24,562,000. Woodson Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 114.6% in the 1st quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP now owns 142,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,643,000 after purchasing an additional 76,102 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $21,296,000. Finally, Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 66.4% in the 4th quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC now owns 84,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,893,000 after purchasing an additional 33,901 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $360.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Stephens assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $367.80.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of GPI stock opened at $383.16 on Tuesday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $228.84 and a twelve month high of $393.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $351.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $312.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $9.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.36 by $0.44. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 20.53% and a net margin of 3.03%. The business had revenue of $4.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $11.73 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 2nd were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is 4.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total value of $421,188.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,419,344.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Profile

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.