968 Shares in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Purchased by Bayforest Capital Ltd

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd has acquired 968 shares of Group 1 Automotive, valued at approximately $370,000, marking a new investment position in the company.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their stakes in Group 1 Automotive, with significant increases reported by Allspring Global Investments and SG Americas Securities.
• Group 1 Automotive's stock has a current consensus rating of "Hold," with recent analyst downgrades impacting its previous "Buy" ratings.

Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 968 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $370,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 54.0% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,574 shares of the company's stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 903 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 315.5% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,720 shares of the company's stock worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 95.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 237 shares of the company's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 68.1% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,565 shares of the company's stock worth $4,799,000 after purchasing an additional 5,091 shares during the period. Finally, Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 96.8% in the first quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 4,737 shares of the company's stock worth $1,809,000 after purchasing an additional 2,330 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on GPI. Wall Street Zen cut Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Guggenheim cut Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Zacks Research cut Group 1 Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $560.00 to $545.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $476.57.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:GPI opened at $471.35 on Thursday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $338.46 and a fifty-two week high of $490.09. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.86. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $447.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $429.60.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.82 EPS. Group 1 Automotive's revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is presently 5.51%.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total value of $219,439.50. Following the sale, the director owned 8 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,343.84. The trade was a 98.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total value of $3,285,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 82,967 shares in the company, valued at $38,939,731.78. The trade was a 7.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Group 1 Automotive 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.