Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Sells 3,885 Shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 67.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,915 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,885 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GPI. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 54.9% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 79 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 881.8% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at $55,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $317.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $332.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $359.42. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $292.44 and a 1-year high of $488.39. The company has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.12, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.87.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $8.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.82 by ($0.16). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 1.46%.The business had revenue of $5.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $10.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 42.22 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on GPI. UBS Group began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $338.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $460.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $455.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $441.25.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

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.