Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires Shares of 3,615 Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 3,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,195,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,966,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 20.3% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 37,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,143,000 after acquiring an additional 6,239 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the first quarter worth about $229,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 6.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,993,000 after purchasing an additional 2,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 46.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $262.78 on Friday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $259.24 and a one year high of $488.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.94, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $305.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $322.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.60 by ($0.99). The company had revenue of $5.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.66 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 1.31%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $10.82 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.37 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 9.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore set a $360.00 target price on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays cut their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Group 1 Automotive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $338.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $400.22.

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.