Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Shares Down 6.6% – Should You Sell?

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) shares traded down 6.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $408.68 and last traded at $401.62. 104,758 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 129,064 shares. The stock had previously closed at $429.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $460.33.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $450.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $410.74.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.09%. On average, research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 5.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Group 1 Automotive news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of Group 1 Automotive 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 owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,013,899.56. The trade was a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 119.4% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 68 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the third 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. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.