Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Receives $452.00 Consensus PT from Brokerages
by Kim Johansen · The Markets DailyGroup 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI – Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $442.6250.
Several brokerages recently commented on GPI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $370.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Benchmark raised Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $490.00 to $420.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Group 1 Automotive
Group 1 Automotive Price Performance
Shares of GPI stock opened at $338.02 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $327.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $379.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.88. Group 1 Automotive has a one year low of $292.44 and a one year high of $488.39.
Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.36 by ($0.87). The company had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 17.39%. Group 1 Automotive’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $10.02 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $0.55 dividend. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 8.80%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GPI. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter worth $26,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 54.9% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 79 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 881.8% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 108 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 118 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.