Bank of America Lowers Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Price Target to $545.00

Key Points

• Bank of America has reduced its price target for Group 1 Automotive from $560.00 to $545.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.89% from the current price despite maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Additionally, Zacks Research and Wall Street Zen have downgraded their ratings for the stock from "strong-buy" and "buy" to "hold," while other firms have slightly adjusted their price targets.
• Group 1 Automotive reported strong quarterly earnings with an EPS of $11.52, exceeding expectations, and its revenue rose by 21.4% year-over-year to $5.70 billion.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by analysts at Bank of America from $560.00 to $545.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Bank of America's price target points to a potential upside of 14.89% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $476.57.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $474.36. 23,753 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 164,886. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The business's 50-day moving average price is $447.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $429.31. Group 1 Automotive has a twelve month low of $338.46 and a twelve month high of $490.09. The company has a market capitalization of $6.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.31 by $1.21. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.10% and a net margin of 2.18%.The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.82 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total transaction of $219,439.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8 shares in the company, valued at $3,343.84. This trade represents a 98.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total transaction of $3,285,380.00. Following the sale, the director owned 82,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,939,731.78. This represents a 7.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advent International L.P. increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 235,195 shares of the company's stock worth $89,833,000 after purchasing an additional 31,244 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the first quarter worth approximately $74,499,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.8% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 180,580 shares of the company's stock worth $68,973,000 after purchasing an additional 3,277 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 0.7% during the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 173,602 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the second quarter worth $70,561,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company's stock.

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.

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