Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Hits New 1-Year Low – Here’s What Happened

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) hit a new 52-week low on Thursday. The company traded as low as $224.65 and last traded at $224.97, with a volume of 216,760 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $243.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $330.00 to $271.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Seaport Research Partners set a $420.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Evercore set a $360.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $300.00 to $232.00 in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $341.67.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $256.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $295.75. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 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.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $5.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $10.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 37.68 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 9.16%.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. acquired 71,592 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $242.03 per share, with a total value of $17,327,411.76. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,912,290 shares in the company, valued at $462,831,548.70. The trade was a 3.89% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 720,030 shares of company stock valued at $187,264,264. 2.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 7,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,556,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 112.0% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Sage Rhino Capital LLC raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 24.0% in the first quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 6.6% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $679,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.