Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $449.58 and last traded at $453.31, with a volume of 95883 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $444.80.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, 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 for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $436.83.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Group 1 Automotive
Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance
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's fifty day simple moving average is $423.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $377.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.00.
Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $12.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.36 EPS for the current year.
Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is 5.01%.
Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,340,928.59. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at $42,013,899.56. This trade represents a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew 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 valued at $156,253,000 after buying an additional 232,846 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% in 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 last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 596.3% in 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 last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in 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% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,319 shares of the company's stock worth $21,573,000 after purchasing an additional 39,982 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Group 1 Automotive Company Profile
(
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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.
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