Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP cut its Group 1 Automotive stake by 29% in the first quarter, selling 5,056 shares and retaining 12,384 shares valued at approximately $4.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 99.92% of the company.
• Group 1 Automotive reported quarterly EPS of $9.61, below the $10.60 analyst consensus, while revenue fell 5.6% year over year to $5.39 billion. Shares opened at $285.21, near the company’s one-year low of $274.27.
• The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, equivalent to a 0.8% annual yield. Analysts’ average rating is “Moderate Buy”, with a consensus price target of $411.33.

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 29.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,384 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,056 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.10% of Group 1 Automotive worth $4,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GPI. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 366,770.5% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 25,431,464 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,002,195,000 after acquiring an additional 25,424,532 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 1.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 688,416 shares of the company's stock worth $227,612,000 after purchasing an additional 10,100 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 505,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $198,659,000 after buying an additional 7,418 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $98,125,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 151,578 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,616,000 after acquiring an additional 7,501 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $285.21 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $312.03 and a 200-day moving average of $329.37. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $274.27 and a one year high of $488.39.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm earned $10.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 40.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $435.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group decreased 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $425.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $411.33.

About Group 1 Automotive

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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