Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Stock: Insider Gillian Hobson Sells 2,000 Shares

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) SVP Gillian Hobson sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.24, for a total value of $516,480.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 7,543 shares in the company, valued at $1,947,904.32. This trade represents a 20.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 3.9%

Group 1 Automotive stock traded up $9.71 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $259.25. The stock had a trading volume of 94,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,483. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $254.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $308.84. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $224.65 and a 52 week high of $429.00.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $9.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.50 by ($0.14). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $10.45 earnings per share. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 37.68 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Leeward Investments LLC MA grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 57,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,773,000 after purchasing an additional 4,150 shares during the period. Sage Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth $366,000. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth $646,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 104.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at $234,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Group 1 Automotive

Here are the key news stories impacting Group 1 Automotive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Insider confidence provided a supportive signal: Conifer Management, L.L.C. reported purchases of 34,529 shares and 45,000 shares of GPI. Conifer Management buys 34,529 shares Conifer Management acquires 45,000 shares
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlighted continued growth opportunities during the third-quarter earnings call, which may be helping offset concerns about near-term profitability. Group 1 Automotive earnings call highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Group 1 Automotive continues to have substantial scale, reporting $5.40 billion in quarterly revenue. Its valuation is relatively modest at roughly 10.8 times earnings, although leverage and thin margins remain important considerations for investors.
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted earnings came in at $9.36 per share, below estimates ranging from $9.50 to $9.65 and down from $10.45 a year earlier. GPI Q3 earnings miss estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue of $5.40 billion also missed the $5.58 billion consensus forecast and declined 6.7% year over year. The results indicate weaker demand and squeezed margins, putting pressure on profitability. GPI stock falls as Q3 results squeeze margins

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GPI. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $232.00 in a report on Monday, October 5th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Evercore set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. KeyCorp set a $425.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $340.33.

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.