Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Reaches New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $275.00 to $260.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Group 1 Automotive traded as low as $234.00 and last traded at $234.06, with a volume of 24970 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $236.96.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on GPI. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $338.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Seaport Research Partners set a $420.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson set a $425.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $331.25.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 133,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $243.58 per share, for a total transaction of $32,511,109.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,772,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $431,635,939. The trade was a 8.15% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 720,030 shares of company stock valued at $187,264,264. 2.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Conifer Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter worth about $281,561,390. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at $24,206,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the second quarter valued at about $593,420,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 51.6% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 78,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,064,000 after buying an additional 26,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 75.1% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 12,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,054,000 after purchasing an additional 5,262 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 0.9%

The firm has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.80, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $267.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $303.76. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.60 by ($0.99). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 1.31%.The firm had revenue of $5.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $10.82 EPS. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.7 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.16%.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc is an international automotive retailer that operates franchised automobile dealerships. The company sells new and used vehicles from a range of manufacturers and provides related automotive services, including vehicle maintenance and repairs, parts and accessories, financing, and insurance products.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, Group 1 Automotive serves customers through dealership operations in the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as other international markets.