Caxton Associates LLP Purchases New Stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive, purchasing 5,714 shares valued at approximately $2.18 million during the 1st quarter.
• Group 1 Automotive's quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $11.52, exceeding analysts' expectations of $10.31, with revenues reaching $5.70 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with a payment date set for September 16th and a current dividend yield of 0.4%.

Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,714 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,182,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Financial Strategies Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. now owns 1,656 shares of the company's stock valued at $654,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC now owns 100,515 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,392,000 after acquiring an additional 13,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Petrus Trust Company LTA acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $441,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total transaction of $219,439.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,343.84. This trade represents a 98.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 82,967 shares in the company, valued at $38,939,731.78. This trade represents a 7.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Benchmark assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Guggenheim lowered Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $510.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $479.43.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of GPI opened at $475.27 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.05. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $336.33 and a one year high of $490.09. The stock's fifty day moving average is $446.52 and its 200-day moving average is $428.99.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.31 by $1.21. The company had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.65 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.10% and a net margin of 2.18%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.82 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.51%.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.

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