Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Upgraded to “Overweight” by Morgan Stanley

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) was upgraded by Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $430.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $285.00. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 11.66% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stephens began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com cut Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $360.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $396.80.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE GPI opened at $385.11 on Wednesday. Group 1 Automotive has a 12 month low of $228.84 and a 12 month high of $393.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $352.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $313.78.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $9.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.36 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $4.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.68 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 20.53% and a net margin of 3.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $11.73 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive will post 39.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total value of $421,188.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,419,344.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth $46,923,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 30,845 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,400,000 after acquiring an additional 5,472 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $272,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 221.5% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 14,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,546,000 after purchasing an additional 10,276 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

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.