Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Reaches New 12-Month Low - What's Next?

Key Points

• Group 1 Automotive shares fell to a new 52-week low of $224.65, well below the previous close of $243.02. The stock’s consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average analyst price target of $341.67.
• Analyst views have become more mixed: Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to “underweight” and cut its target to $232, while Barclays lowered its target to $320 but maintained an “overweight” rating; other firms set targets as high as $425.
• The company missed quarterly expectations, reporting $9.61 in EPS versus the $10.60 consensus and revenue of $5.39 billion versus $5.66 billion expected. Despite the weakness, insiders purchased 720,030 shares worth approximately $187.3 million over the prior 90 days.

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $224.65 and last traded at $224.97, with a volume of 216,760 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $243.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on GPI. Seaport Research Partners set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson set a $425.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered Group 1 Automotive from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $232.00 in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $425.00 price target on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $341.67.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.02. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $256.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $296.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of 6.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.92.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.60 by ($0.99). The company had revenue of $5.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.66 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $10.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 37.68 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. Group 1 Automotive's dividend payout ratio is 9.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. acquired 133,472 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $243.58 per share, for a total transaction of $32,511,109.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,772,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $431,635,939. This trade represents a 8.15% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders bought a total of 720,030 shares of company stock worth $187,264,264 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GPI. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $24,206,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the second quarter worth $5,134,000. Conifer Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at $281,561,390. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter valued at about $593,420,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 51.6% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 78,794 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,064,000 after purchasing an additional 26,822 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company operates dealerships that sell new and used automobiles and light trucks from a broad range of manufacturers.

In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides automotive financing and insurance products, vehicle maintenance and repair, collision services, replacement parts, and other related services. Its dealerships also market vehicles through digital retailing platforms.

Founded in 1997, Group 1 Automotive serves customers through a network of dealerships and automotive service locations in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brazil.

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