Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $260.16 and last traded at $260.4520, with a volume of 19638 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $266.11.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on GPI shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $300.00 price target (down from $400.00) on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $338.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Evercore set a $360.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $425.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $400.22.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $306.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $323.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly 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). 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 last year, the firm earned $10.82 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 9.16%.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 54.9% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 79 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 881.8% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 108 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at $55,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

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.