Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,650,000 shares, a decrease of 5.7% from the December 15th total of 1,750,000 shares. Approximately 12.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 125,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 13.1 days.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 0.7 %

GPI traded up $3.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $447.84. The stock had a trading volume of 95,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 108,822. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.36. 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 firm's fifty day simple moving average is $422.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $376.85. Group 1 Automotive has a 52 week low of $255.73 and a 52 week high of $449.58.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $12.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.36 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. This represents a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 407,930 shares of the company's stock worth $156,253,000 after buying an additional 232,846 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake 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 worth $190,004,000 after buying an additional 115,143 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 596.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 76,384 shares of the company's stock worth $29,259,000 after buying an additional 65,414 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3,663.1% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 55,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,174,000 after purchasing an additional 53,811 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 244.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,319 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,573,000 after purchasing an additional 39,982 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GPI shares. StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $425.00 to $420.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Group 1 Automotive from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $436.83.

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.