Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Stock Falls 5.2% – Here’s Why

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)’s stock price traded down 5.2% on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $231.50 and last traded at $230.3640. Approximately 90,251 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 199,157 shares. The stock had previously closed at $243.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $275.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Evercore set a $360.00 price target on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $341.67.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.92. 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 $257.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $297.45.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.60 by ($0.99). The firm had revenue of $5.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue for the quarter 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 analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 37.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Group 1 Automotive news, major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 71,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $242.03 per share, with a total value of $17,327,411.76. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,912,290 shares in the company, valued at $462,831,548.70. This trade represents a 3.89% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have acquired a total of 720,030 shares of company stock valued at $187,264,264 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter valued at $24,206,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth $5,134,000. Conifer Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth $281,561,390. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at about $593,420,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

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.