Peak6 LLC Buys Shares of 14,235 Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

PEAK6 LLC acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 14,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,000,000. PEAK6 LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Group 1 Automotive as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 6.7% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,720 shares of the company's stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 244.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,319 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,573,000 after purchasing an additional 39,982 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter valued at $272,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 156,627 shares of the company's stock worth $55,701,000 after buying an additional 3,507 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $463.00 target price for the company. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $502.00 to $426.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $449.86.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:GPI traded up $6.80 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $408.63. 37,705 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 145,120. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $269.52 and a 52 week high of $490.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.12 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's 50 day moving average is $417.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $415.54.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.09% and a net margin of 2.47%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is currently 5.44%.

Group 1 Automotive 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.