Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Makes New Investment in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 159.6% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $325.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Guggenheim upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $331.67.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

NYSE GPI opened at $300.35 on Friday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $214.25 and a fifty-two week high of $310.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $272.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.60. The firm has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.44 by ($0.94). The company had revenue of $4.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 22.82%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $10.86 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 39.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.44%.

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.