BlackRock Inc. Invests $593.42 Million in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 2.04 million shares of Group 1 Automotive in the second quarter, worth approximately $593.4 million and representing a 17.1% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 99.92% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with five Buy, three Hold, and two Sell ratings; the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $392.44. Shares opened at $261.98, well below their 52-week high of $488.39.
• Group 1 Automotive missed quarterly expectations, reporting $9.61 in earnings per share versus the $10.60 consensus and revenue of $5.39 billion versus $5.66 billion expected. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, equivalent to a 0.8% annual yield.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,038,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $593,420,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 17.10% of Group 1 Automotive at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GPI. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 78.5% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 191 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Seaport Research Partners set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut Group 1 Automotive from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $392.44.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $261.98 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.82. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $249.54 and a 1 year high of $488.39. The business has a 50 day moving average of $297.87 and a 200-day moving average of $318.06.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.60 by ($0.99). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 1.31%.The company had revenue of $5.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $10.82 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be 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 is Tuesday, September 1st. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is 9.16%.

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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