Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Shares Up 6.4% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPIGet Free Report) rose 6.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $319.34 and last traded at $318.3640. Approximately 111,197 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 181,363 shares. The stock had previously closed at $299.18.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on GPI shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $338.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price target 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $390.00 to $380.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $426.89.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Group 1 Automotive

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 3.5%

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 business’s 50-day moving average is $314.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $336.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.83.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPIGet Free Report) 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41.78 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.40%.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 54.9% in 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 period. First Horizon Corp increased its stake in 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 during the period. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 118 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Group 1 Automotive

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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.

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