Islay Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Islay Capital Management LLC raised its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 20.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,431 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 577 shares during the quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $1,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GPI. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,052,000. Intrust Bank NA increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 3,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $941,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,353,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, South Dakota Investment Council increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 35,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,909,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $255.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $331.67.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Group 1 Automotive stock traded down $2.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $297.29. 53,746 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 142,255. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50 day moving average of $274.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $275.46. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $214.25 and a 12 month high of $310.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.44 by ($0.94). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 22.82% and a net margin of 3.23%. The business had revenue of $4.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $10.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.44%.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.