Avior Wealth Management LLC Takes $46,000 Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 0.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 3,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,139,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 17.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 1.7% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 2,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $848,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 53.7% in the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on GPI shares. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim raised their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $425.20.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $421.14 on Monday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $255.73 and a 1-year high of $422.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $377.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $342.90. The company has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 1.33.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $12.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

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

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.