Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Stock Position Increased by Hodges Capital Management Inc.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 67.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,821 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,861 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. owned 0.28% of Group 1 Automotive worth $15,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 152 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 20.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 264 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,996 shares of the company's stock worth $765,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GPI shares. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $425.00 to $420.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $447.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 98,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. This trade represents a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of GPI traded up $2.12 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $473.75. 157,254 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 134,006. 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 1-year low of $258.77 and a 1-year high of $489.99. The company has a market cap of $6.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $433.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $391.13.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 40.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is currently 5.12%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive 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.