Squarepoint Ops LLC Has $2.73 Million Stock Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 80.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,168 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,077 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $2,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 67.8% in the 2nd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 11,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,480,000 after purchasing an additional 4,731 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 139.4% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,131,000 after acquiring an additional 7,885 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 7.9% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 6.7% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 29,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,636,000 after acquiring an additional 1,822 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GPI. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com raised Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $360.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $396.80.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $373.12 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 8.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.33. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $228.84 and a 52 week high of $393.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $359.80 and its 200-day moving average is $317.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $9.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.36 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $4.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.68 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 20.53% and a net margin of 3.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $11.73 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, September 2nd were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 4.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total value of $421,188.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,419,344.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates in the automotive retail industry in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company sells new and used cars, light trucks, and vehicle parts, as well as service and insurance contracts; arranges related vehicle financing; and offers automotive maintenance and repair services.