Hantz Financial Services Inc. Acquires 2,174 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 3,563.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,235 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,174 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth about $26,000. MAI Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 131.3% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 74 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 25.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 21.9% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of GPI opened at $347.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $338.68 and a 12 month high of $490.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $395.37 and its 200-day moving average is $418.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88 and a beta of 0.90.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.36 by ($0.87). The company had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 1.44%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $10.02 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.00%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 11th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday, December 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings cut Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays set a $470.00 price target on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $472.29.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

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.