Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Wall Street’s consensus rating is “Hold”: Among 10 analysts, five recommend buying, two advise holding, and three recommend selling. The average 12-month price target is $341.67, though several analysts recently lowered their targets and Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to “underweight.”
• Group 1 Automotive reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $9.61 per share, below the $10.60 consensus estimate, while revenue fell 5.6% year over year to $5.39 billion.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.55, equal to a $2.20 annualized payout and a 0.9% yield. Insider buying has been significant, including a $32.5 million purchase by major shareholder Conifer Management.

Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Hold" by the ten brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $341.67.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GPI shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $387.00 to $357.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 28th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $330.00 to $271.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $232.00 in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:GPI opened at $244.41 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.92. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $256.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $295.75. Group 1 Automotive has a 1 year low of $224.65 and a 1 year high of $437.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.60 by ($0.99). The company had revenue of $5.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.66 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 15.66%. Group 1 Automotive's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $10.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive will post 37.68 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 133,472 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $243.58 per share, for a total transaction of $32,511,109.76. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,772,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $431,635,939. This trade represents a 8.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 720,030 shares of company stock valued at $187,264,264. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 112.0% in the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 212 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter worth about $75,000. Group One Trading LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $81,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

About Group 1 Automotive

Group 1 Automotive, Inc is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company operates dealerships that sell new and used automobiles and light trucks from a broad range of manufacturers.

In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides automotive financing and insurance products, vehicle maintenance and repair, collision services, replacement parts, and other related services. Its dealerships also market vehicles through digital retailing platforms.

Founded in 1997, Group 1 Automotive serves customers through a network of dealerships and automotive service locations in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brazil.

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