Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $16.88 Million Stock Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 67.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 88,159 shares and leaving it with 42,926 shares valued at about $16.88 million.
• Group 1 Automotive reported quarterly EPS of $8.66, missing analyst estimates, while revenue came in at $5.41 billion, roughly in line with expectations and down 1.8% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share payable June 15, and analysts remain moderately bullish with a consensus price target of $456.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 67.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,926 shares of the company's stock after selling 88,159 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.34% of Group 1 Automotive worth $16,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Leeward Investments LLC MA lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 35,683 shares of the company's stock worth $14,034,000 after buying an additional 7,553 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,465 shares of the company's stock worth $577,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 5,487 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,158,000 after acquiring an additional 711 shares during the period. Finally, Keybank National Association OH lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 1,322 shares of the company's stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $316.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $330.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $363.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $292.44 and a 12-month high of $488.39.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 EPS 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 return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 1.46%.The firm's revenue was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $10.17 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 42.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is 8.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GPI shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Benchmark raised 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $456.00.

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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