Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

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

GPI has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $338.00 price objective for the company. Benchmark upgraded 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 471 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 54.9% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 79 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 935 shares of the company’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted 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 in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of GPI stock opened at $311.55 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $332.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $358.72. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.87. Group 1 Automotive has a 12 month low of $292.44 and a 12 month high of $488.39.

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

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 8.40%.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.