Park West Asset Management LLC Acquires 13,323 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Key Points

• Park West Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 15.3%, acquiring an additional 13,323 shares to reach a total of 100,515 shares, representing about 3.1% of its portfolio.
• Group 1 Automotive announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, with an annualized payout of $2.00 and a yield of 0.4%, to be paid on September 16th.
• Analysts generally rate Group 1 Automotive as a "Hold", with four analysts giving a "Buy" rating and a consensus price target of $479.43.

Park West Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 15.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 100,515 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,323 shares during the period. Group 1 Automotive comprises about 3.1% of Park West Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Park West Asset Management LLC owned 0.78% of Group 1 Automotive worth $38,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 571 shares of the company's stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 24.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 146 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 2.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,144 shares of the company's stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 1.2% in the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 2,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 1,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GPI. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Guggenheim downgraded 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 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $479.43.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI stock opened at $482.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $445.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $429.38. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $336.33 and a 52 week high of $490.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $5.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.82 EPS. The business's revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is presently 5.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total value of $3,285,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total transaction of $219,439.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,525 shares of company stock worth $4,829,950. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.