Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Boosts Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 2,053.8% in Q4, adding 49,559 shares to hold 51,972 shares (about 0.41% of the company) valued at $20.4 million.
• Group 1 missed Q4 estimates, reporting EPS of $8.49 versus $9.36 expected and revenue of $5.58 billion versus $5.71 billion, with a net margin of 1.44% and ROE of 17.39%.
• Analysts are mostly positive—seven Buy and three Hold ratings yield an average sentiment of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $453.88.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 2,053.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,972 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 49,559 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 0.41% of Group 1 Automotive worth $20,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at $55,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at $122,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth $131,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 28.9% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 428 shares of the company's stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $425.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Group 1 Automotive from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $370.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Evercore started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $453.88.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $329.04 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $332.61 and its 200-day moving average is $384.71. The company has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.88. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $292.44 and a 12 month high of $488.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 17.39%. The business had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.02 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is 8.80%.

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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