Strs Ohio Sells 6,400 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Key Points

• Strs Ohio sharply cut its stake in Group 1 Automotive, selling 6,400 shares in the first quarter and leaving it with 400 shares worth about $132,000.
• Analysts remain mostly positive on GPI, with seven Buy ratings and three Hold ratings; the stock’s consensus price target is $431.89.
• Recent results were mixed: Group 1 Automotive posted EPS of $8.66, missing estimates, while revenue came in just below expectations and was down 1.8% from a year earlier.

Strs Ohio decreased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 94.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 400 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,400 shares during the period. Strs Ohio's holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GPI. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 54.9% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 79 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 881.8% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 108 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 118 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth approximately $55,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday. 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 research report on Monday, May 11th. DA Davidson set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $431.89.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI opened at $299.97 on Monday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $279.10 and a 12-month high of $488.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a PE ratio of 11.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $317.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $339.32.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.82 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $5.41 billion during 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 business's revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $10.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.40%.

Group 1 Automotive Company 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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