Twin Tree Management LP Purchases New Shares in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Key Points

• Twin Tree Management LP has invested approximately $723,000 in Group 1 Automotive, acquiring 1,894 shares in the first quarter.
• Group 1 Automotive recently reported a quarterly EPS of $11.52, surpassing analysts' expectations and achieving a 21.4% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company declared a $0.50 quarterly dividend, payable to shareholders on September 16th, translating to an annual yield of 0.4%.

Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $723,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 54.0% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,574 shares of the company's stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 903 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 315.5% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,720 shares of the company's stock worth $657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 95.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 237 shares of the company's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 68.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,565 shares of the company's stock worth $4,799,000 after purchasing an additional 5,091 shares during the period. Finally, Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 96.8% during the 1st quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP now owns 4,737 shares of the company's stock worth $1,809,000 after purchasing an additional 2,330 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $441.71, for a total value of $1,325,130.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 16,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,365,072.54. This trade represents a 15.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total transaction of $3,285,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 82,967 shares in the company, valued at $38,939,731.78. This trade represents a 7.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,525 shares of company stock valued at $4,829,950 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GPI shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Guggenheim lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $510.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $479.43.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI stock traded up $2.87 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $482.88. The stock had a trading volume of 159,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 143,456. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $445.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $429.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.86. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $5.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.65 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.82 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.51%.

Group 1 Automotive Company 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.