Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Receives $470.14 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Key Points

• Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from eight brokerages, with an average 1-year target price set at $470.14.
• The company reported earnings per share of $11.52 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and noted a 21.4% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• A recent quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share was announced, representing an annualized yield of 0.5%.

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $470.14.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $415.00 price target (down previously from $435.00) on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. 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. Finally, Guggenheim cut Group 1 Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Steven Mizell sold 525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.98, for a total transaction of $219,439.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,343.84. This represents a 98.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Daniel James Mchenry sold 3,000 shares of the company's 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 515,593 shares of the company's stock worth $217,312,000 after acquiring an additional 107,663 shares in the last quarter. Advent International L.P. lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 235,195 shares of the company's stock worth $89,833,000 after acquiring an additional 31,244 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter worth about $74,499,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 180,580 shares of the company's stock worth $68,973,000 after purchasing an additional 3,277 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 173,602 shares of the company's stock worth $66,307,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

GPI traded down $2.45 during trading on Friday, reaching $409.70. 131,073 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 189,989. The stock has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.30, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $436.46 and a 200 day moving average of $430.91. 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 has a 52 week low of $326.91 and a 52 week high of $490.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $11.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.31 by $1.21. The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.65 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.10% and a net margin of 2.18%. The firm's revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.51%.

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.