Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $460.00 target price on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $475.75.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $398.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 0.89. Group 1 Automotive has a 1 year low of $355.91 and a 1 year high of $490.09. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $401.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $425.38.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $10.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.64 by ($0.19). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The business had revenue of $5.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.90 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 11th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 10.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is 7.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 54.9% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 79 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 2,053.8% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 51,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,403,000 after purchasing an additional 49,559 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $122,000. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 26,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,503,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,648,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.