Arosa Capital Management LP Increases Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Arosa Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 38.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,600 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Group 1 Automotive makes up 0.6% of Arosa Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Arosa Capital Management LP's holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $1,517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GPI. Barclays PLC increased its position 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 last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter valued at about $272,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.3% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 156,627 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,701,000 after acquiring an additional 3,507 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $416,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total transaction of $654,184.41. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,260 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,350,008.20. The trade was a 16.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GPI. Citigroup started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $463.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $502.00 to $426.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $449.86.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 1.8 %

GPI stock traded up $7.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $412.74. The company had a trading volume of 29,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 142,745. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $408.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $417.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 1.05. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $279.86 and a fifty-two week high of $490.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.68 by $0.49. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.09%. The company had revenue of $5.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.49 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.61%.

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.