Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Shares Sold by Hodges Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Hodges Capital Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 44.7%, selling 16,454 shares, and now holds 20,367 shares valued at approximately $7.78 million.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Group 1 Automotive, with ratings ranging from "buy" to "hold," and a consensus target price set at $476.57.
• Group 1 Automotive recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50, translating to an annualized yield of 0.4%, indicating a pay-out ratio of 5.51%.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 44.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,367 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,454 shares during the quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Group 1 Automotive worth $7,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Advent International L.P. increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 15.3% during the first quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 235,195 shares of the company's stock worth $89,833,000 after acquiring an additional 31,244 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the first quarter worth approximately $74,499,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.8% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 180,580 shares of the company's stock worth $68,973,000 after acquiring an additional 3,277 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 0.7% during the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 173,602 shares of the company's stock worth $66,307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares during the period. Finally, Park West Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 15.3% during the first quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC now owns 100,515 shares of the company's stock worth $38,392,000 after acquiring an additional 13,323 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GPI. Zacks Research lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $560.00 to $545.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $476.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total transaction of $3,285,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 82,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,939,731.78. The trade was a 7.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of Group 1 Automotive 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 sale, the director owned 8 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,343.84. The trade was a 98.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE GPI traded up $3.86 on Wednesday, hitting $462.09. The stock had a trading volume of 55,241 shares, compared to its average volume of 165,119. The business's fifty day moving average price is $447.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $429.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $344.38 and a 52-week high of $490.09. The stock has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is presently 5.51%.

Group 1 Automotive Profile

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.