Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $447.73 and last traded at $447.73, with a volume of 1683 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $436.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $437.67.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $420.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $373.63.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $12.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

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

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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 owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,013,899.56. The trade was a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 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.