Brokerages Set Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Target Price at $437.67

Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $437.67.

A number of brokerages recently commented on GPI. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total transaction of $2,560,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,013,899.56. This trade represents a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GPI. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 407,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,253,000 after acquiring an additional 232,846 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,004,000 after acquiring an additional 115,143 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 596.3% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 76,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,259,000 after acquiring an additional 65,414 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3,663.1% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 55,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,174,000 after acquiring an additional 53,811 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 244.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,573,000 after acquiring an additional 39,982 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE:GPI opened at $447.29 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $421.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $374.14. The company has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Group 1 Automotive has a 52 week low of $255.73 and a 52 week high of $449.56.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.87 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $12.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

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.