Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Stake Raised by Brevan Howard Capital Management LP

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 177.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,986 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,384 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $4,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 2,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,246,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 5.1% in the third quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 595 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 6.4% during the third quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3.3% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on GPI. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, January 9th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Evercore started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $458.00.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $300.01 on Monday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $298.21 and a 52 week high of $488.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $355.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $399.46.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.36 by ($0.87). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 17.39% and a net margin of 1.44%.The business had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $10.02 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.80%.

Group 1 Automotive 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.