Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $272.28 and last traded at $272.7550, with a volume of 50551 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $277.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. DA Davidson set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $380.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $400.22.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 1.7%

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $308.81 and its 200 day moving average is $327.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 11.09, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.82.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $5.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.66 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 1.31%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $10.82 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 54.9% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 79 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 881.8% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 40.5% during 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. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth about $55,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.