Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Price Target Lowered to $420.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $425.00 to $420.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised 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 research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $436.83.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $447.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $422.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $376.85. Group 1 Automotive has a 52 week low of $255.73 and a 52 week high of $449.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.87 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $12.07 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.36 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total value of $2,560,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. This represents a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GPI. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 88.4% in the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 2,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $872,000 after buying an additional 971 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $993,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth $416,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% 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.