JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Stock Price

Key Points

• JPMorgan trimmed its price target on Group 1 Automotive from $390 to $380 but kept an overweight rating, implying about 27% upside from the stock’s current price.
• Other analysts remain mixed but generally constructive: Barclays and Citigroup raised targets and kept buy/overweight ratings, while UBS lowered its target and stayed neutral. The consensus analyst rating is Moderate Buy with an average target of $430.78.
• Group 1 Automotive shares were trading around $298.33 on Monday, well below the consensus target, after the company recently reported EPS of $8.66 versus $8.82 expected and revenue that was slightly below estimates.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $390.00 to $380.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective suggests a potential upside of 27.37% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $338.00 to $330.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $430.78.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

NYSE:GPI traded down $1.55 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $298.33. 55,456 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 181,750. The company has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Group 1 Automotive has a one year low of $279.10 and a one year high of $488.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $317.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $339.32.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $8.82 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $10.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive will post 41.93 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 54.9% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 79 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 881.8% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 108 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 118 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth $55,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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