6,304 Shares in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Acquired by Garner Asset Management Corp

Key Points

• Garner Asset Management acquired a new 6,304-share stake in Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter, valued at approximately $1.54 million and representing about 0.05% of the company.
• Group 1 Automotive reported quarterly earnings of $9.36 per share, below the $9.50 consensus estimate, while revenue of $5.40 billion missed expectations and fell 6.7% year over year.
• Analysts’ average rating was Hold, with an average price target of $338.11; meanwhile, company insiders acquired 820,030 shares worth about $211.5 million over the prior 90 days.

Garner Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,304 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,537,000. Garner Asset Management Corp owned approximately 0.05% of Group 1 Automotive at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Corient Private Wealth LP grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 6.2% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 702 shares of the company's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 0.9% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 7,734 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,556,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 445.8% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 131 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 112.0% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 212 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 24.0% during the 1st quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 652 shares of the company's stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 1.6%

GPI opened at $265.56 on Wednesday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $224.65 and a 1 year high of $429.00. The company has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of 7.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $254.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $306.13.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $9.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.50 by ($0.14). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 1.75%. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $10.45 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 37.40 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is presently 6.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GPI. Morgan Stanley cut Group 1 Automotive from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $232.00 in a research report on Monday, October 5th. UBS Group cut their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $271.00 to $259.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. KeyCorp set a $425.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Barclays cut their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $387.00 to $357.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $338.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 133,472 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $243.58 per share, with a total value of $32,511,109.76. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 1,772,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $431,635,939. This trade represents a 8.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have acquired 820,030 shares of company stock valued at $211,496,571 in the last ninety days. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Profile

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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