Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Price Target Raised to $495.00 at Citigroup

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) had its target price hoisted by Citigroup from $463.00 to $495.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $502.00 to $426.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $454.43.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE GPI opened at $449.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $403.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $421.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Group 1 Automotive has a 52 week low of $279.86 and a 52 week high of $490.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.68 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $5.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.09%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.49 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total transaction of $654,184.41. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,350,008.20. This represents a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the first quarter worth about $74,499,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $65,721,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 515,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,312,000 after purchasing an additional 107,663 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,039,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 74,711.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 90,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,750,000 after purchasing an additional 90,401 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.