JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Price Target to $420.00

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) had its price target trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $425.00 to $420.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $436.83.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.7 %

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $447.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.00. Group 1 Automotive has a fifty-two week low of $255.73 and a fifty-two week high of $449.58. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $422.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $376.85.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $12.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

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

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive 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 sale, the director now owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. The trade was a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth $231,000. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth about $228,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 35.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $492,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 18.9% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 7.8% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,184,000 after purchasing an additional 3,206 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.