Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,235,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GPI. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 40,078 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,308,000 after purchasing an additional 5,440 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 112.9% during the first quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 2,636 shares of the company's stock worth $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the first quarter worth $4,596,000. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.5% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,302 shares of the company's stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 10.0% during the first quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 538 shares of the company's stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $435.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $470.14.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE GPI traded up $5.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $411.51. The stock had a trading volume of 167,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 152,066. The company has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.55, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.90. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $298.92 and a 1-year high of $490.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $440.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $431.23.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.68 by $0.49. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 17.96% and a net margin of 2.27%. The firm had revenue of $5.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.49 EPS. Group 1 Automotive's revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is currently 5.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total value of $654,184.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 8,260 shares in the company, valued at $3,350,008.20. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $441.71, for a total value of $1,325,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,365,072.54. This represents a 15.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Group 1 Automotive Company 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.