Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Price Target Raised to $495.00

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) had its price objective raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $420.00 to $495.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on GPI. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Stephens reissued 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. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $460.33.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI stock opened at $481.64 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $439.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $397.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 1.36. Group 1 Automotive has a 12-month low of $258.77 and a 12-month high of $490.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 2.47%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 40.86 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.12%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total value 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 represents a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GPI. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 407,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,253,000 after acquiring an additional 232,846 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth $65,721,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth $37,119,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 111.1% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 161,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,949,000 after acquiring an additional 84,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3,663.1% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 55,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,174,000 after acquiring an additional 53,811 shares in 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.