Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Has $5.27 Million Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 17.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,062 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,802 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp owned 0.09% of Group 1 Automotive worth $5,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 39.4% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,110,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in Group 1 Automotive by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 43,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,887,000 after buying an additional 2,039 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth $702,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 211.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $560.00 to $545.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $510.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $472.29.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE:GPI opened at $408.03 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $408.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $432.08. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $355.91 and a 1 year high of $490.09. The company has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.90.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $10.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.64 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $5.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.67 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.90 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.00%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 11th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.