Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Evercore ISI

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Evercore ISI to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

GPI has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $510.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $460.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $475.75.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $398.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $401.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $425.38. Group 1 Automotive has a twelve month low of $355.91 and a twelve month high of $490.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $10.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.64 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.67 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 1.67%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 10.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 54.9% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 79 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 131.3% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 74 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the second quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 25.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.