Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 3,885 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 67.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,915 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,885 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 28 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 881.8% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on GPI. UBS Group began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $338.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Benchmark upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Barclays upped their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $441.25.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of GPI opened at $317.55 on Friday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $292.44 and a 52 week high of $488.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.12, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $332.70 and a 200-day moving average of $359.42.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.82 by ($0.16). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The firm had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $10.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 42.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.40%.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

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.