Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Stock Price Target Cut by Barclays

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) had its price target dropped by stock analysts at Barclays from $320.00 to $300.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 14.18% from the stock’s current price.

GPI has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $275.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research cut Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group cut their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $271.00 to $259.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $387.00 to $357.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Five research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $338.11.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of GPI traded up $2.78 on Friday, reaching $262.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 29,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,172. Group 1 Automotive has a twelve month low of $224.65 and a twelve month high of $429.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 8.31, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $254.68 and a 200-day moving average of $308.12.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $9.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.50 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 15.18%. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $10.45 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive will post 37.68 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. acquired 20,471 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $246.14 per share, with a total value of $5,038,731.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,012,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,305,060.60. The trade was a 1.03% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Gillian A. Hobson sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.24, for a total value of $516,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 7,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,947,904.32. The trade was a 20.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought a total of 820,030 shares of company stock worth $211,496,571 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the second quarter worth about $593,420,000. Conifer Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $281,561,390. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 688,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,612,000 after buying an additional 10,100 shares in the last quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $72,098,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $57,174,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.