Nomura Holdings Inc. Makes New Investment in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Key Points

• Nomura Holdings Inc. invested approximately $1.93 million in Group 1 Automotive by acquiring 5,059 shares in the first quarter.
• Group 1 Automotive recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $11.52, exceeding expectations and reflecting a 21.4% revenue increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.4%, scheduled for payment on September 16th.

Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,932,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GPI. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 157,970 shares of the company's stock worth $66,581,000 after buying an additional 15,280 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 807 shares of the company's stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,441 shares of the company's stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 143,664 shares of the company's stock worth $60,552,000 after purchasing an additional 15,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 571 shares of the company's stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Benchmark began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Guggenheim lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of 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, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $479.43.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock traded up $2.87 during trading on Friday, hitting $482.88. 159,275 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 143,456. 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 12 month low of $336.33 and a 12 month high of $490.09. The stock's fifty day moving average is $445.75 and its 200 day moving average is $429.38. The stock has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.86.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.82 EPS. Group 1 Automotive's revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total transaction of $219,439.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,343.84. The trade was a 98.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 82,967 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,525 shares of company stock valued at $4,829,950. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.