Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Upgraded at Guggenheim

Guggenheim upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. Guggenheim currently has $305.00 target price on the stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and raised their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $331.67.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI stock traded down $3.88 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $265.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 158,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,636. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 6.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a fifty day moving average of $272.31 and a 200-day moving average of $273.68. Group 1 Automotive has a 52 week low of $214.25 and a 52 week high of $310.08.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $10.44 by ($0.94). The business had revenue of $4.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 3.34% and a return on equity of 24.36%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $10.86 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is currently 4.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 15,051 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,082,000 after purchasing an additional 4,844 shares during the period. Burney Co. grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 11.0% during the third quarter. Burney Co. now owns 70,085 shares of the company's stock worth $18,832,000 after buying an additional 6,946 shares in the last quarter. Covalis Capital LLP bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter worth about $16,330,000. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,703,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,770,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.