Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Stock Price

Key Points

• Citigroup lowered its price target on Group 1 Automotive from $490 to $420 while maintaining a "buy" rating, implying roughly a 26.3% upside from the mid-day price of $332.54.
• Analyst views and fundamentals are mixed: consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $442.63 amid divergent targets ($400–$500), and the company recently missed quarterly EPS ($8.49 vs. $9.36) with revenue slightly below expectations.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by stock analysts at Citigroup from $490.00 to $420.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Citigroup's price target suggests a potential upside of 26.30% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Evercore initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $455.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Group 1 Automotive from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $442.63.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 2.6%

Group 1 Automotive stock traded up $8.58 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $332.54. 67,215 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 186,944. The business has a fifty day moving average of $329.86 and a 200 day moving average of $381.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.88. Group 1 Automotive has a 12-month low of $292.44 and a 12-month high of $488.39.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.36 by ($0.87). The company had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.71 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 17.39% and a net margin of 1.44%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $10.02 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 471 shares of the company's stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 54.9% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 79 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 595 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 935 shares of the company's stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 118 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc NYSE: GPI is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company operates an extensive network of franchised dealerships, offering new and pre-owned vehicles from leading domestic and import manufacturers. In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides a full complement of aftersales services, including finance and insurance products, parts distribution, collision repair centers and vehicle maintenance.

Founded in 1997, Group 1 Automotive has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a presence across the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.

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