Group 1 Automotive's (GPI) Equal Weight Rating Reiterated at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley reiterated its “equal weight” rating on Group 1 Automotive but lowered its price target to $300 from $400, implying approximately 10.7% upside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive, with five Buy and five Hold ratings and a consensus price target of $400.22; however, JPMorgan and Weiss Ratings recently downgraded the stock.
• Group 1 Automotive’s latest quarter missed expectations, reporting $9.61 in earnings per share versus $10.60 expected and $5.39 billion in revenue versus $5.66 billion forecast. Revenue fell 5.6% year over year, while the stock opened at $270.99 near its one-year low.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "equal weight" rating reissued by research analysts at Morgan Stanley in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $300.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $400.00. Morgan Stanley's price target points to a potential upside of 10.70% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on GPI. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore set a $360.00 price target on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $435.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $380.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $400.22.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $270.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.29, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50-day moving average of $309.83 and a 200-day moving average of $327.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Group 1 Automotive has a 1 year low of $269.76 and a 1 year high of $488.39.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $10.60 by ($0.99). The firm had revenue of $5.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.66 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 1.31%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $10.82 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 39.9 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 881.8% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 108 shares of the company's stock valued at $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 about $43,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source