Norges Bank Buys New Shares in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new stake in Group 1 Automotive, buying 249,491 shares valued at about $98.1 million and ending with roughly 1.98% ownership of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive, with several firms raising targets and seven analysts rating the stock a Buy; the consensus view is Moderate Buy with a $441.25 average price target.
• Group 1 Automotive reported quarterly EPS of $8.66, slightly below estimates, and revenue of $5.41 billion, while also announcing a $0.55 quarterly dividend payable June 15.

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 249,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $98,125,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.98% of Group 1 Automotive as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GPI. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,766 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,966,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 37,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,143,000 after purchasing an additional 6,239 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at $229,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 41,872 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,993,000 after purchasing an additional 2,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 46.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on GPI shares. Benchmark raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $425.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $338.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $441.25.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of GPI opened at $311.66 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $331.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $356.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $292.44 and a 1-year high of $488.39.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $8.82 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $10.17 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 42.37 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is presently 8.40%.

Group 1 Automotive 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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