Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Upgraded to Hold at UBS Group

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) was upgraded by investment analysts at UBS Group to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on GPI. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Benchmark raised Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $441.25.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $331.64 on Wednesday. Group 1 Automotive has a 52-week low of $292.44 and a 52-week high of $488.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $331.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $360.16.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.82 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 1.46%.The firm’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 42.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 54.9% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 79 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 881.8% during the 4th 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 stake in Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

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.