GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 70.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 121 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $51,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 156,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,701,000 after acquiring an additional 3,507 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth about $272,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $504,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 305,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 244.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,573,000 after acquiring an additional 39,982 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 1.7 %

GPI stock opened at $428.10 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $255.73 and a 12 month high of $440.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $417.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $371.70.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS 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 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%. Group 1 Automotive’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $12.07 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.01%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $437.67.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at $42,013,899.56. This trade represents a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

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.