Tudor Investment Corp ET AL Sells 3,311 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Key Points

• Tudor Investment Corp trimmed its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 7.6%, selling 3,311 shares and now owns 40,035 shares (about 0.32% of the company) valued at roughly $17.52 million.
• Group 1 Automotive missed quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $8.49 versus $9.36 expected and revenue of $5.58 billion versus $5.71 billion expected; the stock has a market cap of $3.79 billion and a P/E of 12.7.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.55 (annualized $2.20, ~0.7% yield), and analysts hold a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $458.00.

Tudor Investment Corp ET AL decreased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,035 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,311 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL owned 0.32% of Group 1 Automotive worth $17,516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth approximately $263,000. Cambria Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 15.6% in the third quarter. Cambria Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 22.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 184,732 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,822,000 after purchasing an additional 33,542 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $588,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,054,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:GPI opened at $317.61 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $346.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $394.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. 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 earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $9.36 by ($0.87). The company had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 17.39% and a net margin of 1.44%.Group 1 Automotive's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $10.02 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on GPI shares. Bank of America initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Evercore started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $370.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $458.00.

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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