Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $420.00 to $495.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Group 1 Automotive traded as high as $490.09 and last traded at $486.70, with a volume of 13055 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $484.08.

Several other research firms have also commented on GPI. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $460.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. This represents a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 541,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $207,518,000 after acquiring an additional 10,969 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 515,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,312,000 after acquiring an additional 107,663 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 396,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,075,000 after acquiring an additional 9,587 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 305,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 111.1% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 161,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,949,000 after acquiring an additional 84,832 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $439.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $397.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.25%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 40.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is 5.44%.

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

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.