Analysts Set Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) PT at $437.67

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $437.67.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $394.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim upped 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.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock traded up $3.89 on Thursday, hitting $414.90. 174,703 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 134,711. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 1.35. Group 1 Automotive has a 1 year low of $255.73 and a 1 year high of $440.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $396.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $357.37.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.87 by $0.03. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $12.07 earnings per share. Group 1 Automotive's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.37 EPS for the current year.

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

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given 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 0.45%. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is 5.01%.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $42,013,899.56. This represents 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GPI. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $190,004,000 after buying an additional 115,143 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 2.1% during the third 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 raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 407,930 shares of the company's stock valued at $156,253,000 after acquiring an additional 232,846 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 worth $117,080,000 after acquiring an additional 1,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 purchasing an additional 3,507 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

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.