Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Shares Purchased by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its Group 1 Automotive stake by 74.2% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 39,209 shares valued at approximately $12.96 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 99.92% of the company.
• Group 1 Automotive reported quarterly EPS of $8.66, below the $8.82 analyst consensus, while revenue declined 1.8% year over year to $5.41 billion. Shares opened at $356.16, well below their 52-week high of $488.39.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, representing a $2.20 annualized payout and a 0.6% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $426.89.

Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 74.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,209 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 16,706 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.33% of Group 1 Automotive worth $12,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GPI. SummitTX Capital L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at about $212,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at $1,195,000. Keebeck Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 21.8% in the first quarter. Keebeck Wealth Management now owns 850 shares of the company's stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 6,455 shares of the company's stock worth $2,134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,110 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 75.1% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 12,264 shares of the company's stock worth $4,054,000 after purchasing an additional 5,262 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI opened at $356.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The business's 50 day moving average is $314.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $332.43. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.10 and a 52-week high of $488.39.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $8.82 by ($0.16). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 1.46%.The company had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $10.17 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on GPI. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. DA Davidson set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Barclays dropped their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $435.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $338.00 to $330.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $426.89.

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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