Islay Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 3,278 Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Islay Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 3,278 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,256,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GPI. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company's stock worth $190,004,000 after acquiring an additional 115,143 shares during the last quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 114.6% in the first quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP now owns 142,500 shares of the company's stock worth $41,643,000 after acquiring an additional 76,102 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 596.3% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 76,384 shares of the company's stock worth $29,259,000 after acquiring an additional 65,414 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 57.4% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 63,236 shares of the company's stock worth $24,222,000 after acquiring an additional 23,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shellback Capital LP raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 27.1% during the second quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 95,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,331,000 after buying an additional 20,302 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Stephens started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $394.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Group 1 Automotive from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $397.80.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE:GPI traded down $12.70 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $402.11. The stock had a trading volume of 150,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,962. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $255.73 and a twelve month high of $422.28. The stock has a market cap of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.33. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $371.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $339.02. 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 announced 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 business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $12.07 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is presently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, 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 transaction of $29,546.79. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.