Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Reaches New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $224.65 and last traded at $224.97, with a volume of 216,760 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $243.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $232.00 in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $425.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $341.67.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $256.84 and a 200-day moving average of $296.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its 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 net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $10.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 37.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 133,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $243.58 per share, with a total value of $32,511,109.76. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 1,772,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $431,635,939. The trade was a 8.15% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 720,030 shares of company stock valued at $187,264,264. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sage Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth $366,000. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter valued at $646,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 104.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 779 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter worth $234,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 112.0% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

About Group 1 Automotive

Group 1 Automotive, Inc is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company operates dealerships that sell new and used automobiles and light trucks from a broad range of manufacturers.

In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides automotive financing and insurance products, vehicle maintenance and repair, collision services, replacement parts, and other related services. Its dealerships also market vehicles through digital retailing platforms.

Founded in 1997, Group 1 Automotive serves customers through a network of dealerships and automotive service locations in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brazil.