Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Stake Raised by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 27.1%, acquiring 8,774 additional shares, bringing its total holdings to 41,210 shares valued at approximately $15.74 million as of the recent SEC filing.
• Group 1 Automotive reported an impressive quarterly earnings result with an EPS of $11.52, surpassing the expected $10.31 and reflecting a 21.4% revenue increase compared to the same quarter last year.
• Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with five analystsfour have rated it a buy, and the average price target is set at $471.57.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 27.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,210 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,774 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.32% of Group 1 Automotive worth $15,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter worth $74,499,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter worth $36,039,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 74,711.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 90,522 shares of the company's stock worth $345,750,000 after buying an additional 90,401 shares during the last quarter. Advent International L.P. grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 203,951 shares of the company's stock worth $85,961,000 after buying an additional 80,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth $21,608,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $485.00 price target on Group 1 Automotive and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America increased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $510.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Group 1 Automotive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $479.43.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI stock traded down $8.88 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $442.26. 219,956 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 165,008. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $437.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $429.70. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $336.33 and a one year high of $490.09. The company has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

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

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total value of $219,439.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,343.84. This represents a 98.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

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.