Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Makes New Investment in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $144,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GPI. Sage Rhino Capital LLC acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 315.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. BlueStem Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $260,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth $6,218,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,406,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $460.33.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $387.26 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $262.31 and a 12 month high of $490.09. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $448.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $411.26.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.09% and a net margin of 2.47%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 5.44%.

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.