Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $396.80.
A number of research firms have weighed in on GPI. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $360.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $394.00 target price on the stock.
View Our Latest Report on GPI
Shares of GPI stock opened at $368.87 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $361.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $319.31. The company has a market cap of $4.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Group 1 Automotive has a twelve month low of $228.84 and a twelve month high of $393.93.
Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $9.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.36 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $4.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.68 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 3.03% and a return on equity of 20.53%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $11.73 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive will post 39.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.
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 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Group 1 Automotive's payout ratio is presently 4.44%.
In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,742 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,419,344.58. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GPI. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 53.7% in the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 146 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at $48,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 47.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 270 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 1,452.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 559 shares of the company's stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider Group 1 Automotive, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Group 1 Automotive wasn't on the list.
While Group 1 Automotive currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.