California State Teachers Retirement System Boosts Stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System dramatically increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 25,782.6% to 3.87 million shares, representing about 32.45% ownership; institutional investors collectively own 99.92% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with five Buy, three Hold, and two Sell ratings, resulting in an average Hold rating and a consensus price target of $373.38.
• Group 1 Automotive reported quarterly EPS of $9.61, below the $10.60 consensus estimate, while revenue fell 5.6% year over year to $5.39 billion. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, implying a 0.8% yield.

California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 25,782.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,867,902 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,852,958 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 32.45% of Group 1 Automotive worth $1,126,217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter worth $233,000. AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth approximately $326,000. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth approximately $190,000. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 77.7% during the second quarter. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the company's stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,817,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson set a $425.00 target price on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Evercore set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $338.00 to $330.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $373.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Group 1 Automotive news, major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. acquired 36,647 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $280.86 per share, with a total value of $10,292,676.42. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,446,640 shares in the company, valued at $406,303,310.40. The trade was a 2.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have bought 254,380 shares of company stock valued at $72,603,674 over the last ninety days. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE:GPI opened at $278.24 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.82. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $249.54 and a twelve month high of $485.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $289.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $311.64.

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

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.16%.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc is an international automotive retailer that operates franchised dealerships in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company sells new and used vehicles from a broad range of manufacturers, including domestic, Asian and European brands.

In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides automotive maintenance and repair services, sells replacement parts and accessories, and offers financing, insurance and other related products. Its dealerships also support customers through collision-repair operations and online vehicle purchasing tools.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, Group 1 Automotive has expanded through dealership acquisitions and organic growth.

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