Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Shares Acquired by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 127.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,697 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,924 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $5,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 366,770.5% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 25,431,464 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,002,195,000 after buying an additional 25,424,532 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at $593,420,000. Conifer Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth about $281,561,390. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 688,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,612,000 after acquiring an additional 10,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 505,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,659,000 after acquiring an additional 7,418 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Group 1 Automotive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major shareholder increases GPI stake: Conifer Management purchased 57,159 shares at an average of $300.15, worth approximately $17.2 million, increasing its ownership by 4.38% to 1.36 million shares. It also bought 83,121 shares at an average of $282.63, a purchase valued at approximately $23.5 million and representing a 6.80% increase in its position. The buying signals confidence from a significant shareholder. Conifer Management share purchases
• Neutral Sentiment: New senior notes priced: Group 1 priced $1.25 billion of senior unsecured notes—$625 million due in 2032 at 6.250% and $625 million due in 2035 at 6.625%. The proceeds may provide capital for corporate needs or growth, but the transaction’s impact will depend on how the funds are used. Group 1 Automotive senior notes pricing
• Negative Sentiment: Financing adds leverage and interest expense: The debt issuance comes as GPI already reports a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03 and weak liquidity ratios. Annual coupon payments on the new notes will total roughly $80.5 million, potentially pressuring future earnings and cash flow.
• Neutral Sentiment: One cited article concerns Lithia Motors, not GPI: Lithia’s record quarter, dividend increase and expanded buybacks may support sentiment toward auto retailers generally, but it does not provide a direct fundamental update for Group 1 Automotive. Lithia’s record quarter

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPI opened at $287.57 on Thursday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $249.54 and a fifty-two week high of $488.39. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $289.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $312.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.82.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.60 by ($0.99). The company had revenue of $5.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.66 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.31% and a return on equity of 15.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $10.82 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.96 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GPI. Seaport Research Partners set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Evercore set a $360.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $373.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. acquired 83,121 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $282.63 per share, for a total transaction of $23,492,488.23. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,305,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $368,968,095.03. The trade was a 6.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have purchased 170,380 shares of company stock valued at $48,934,722 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

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.