Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Reaches New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $249.54 and last traded at $250.0310, with a volume of 164309 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $259.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $300.00 target price (down from $400.00) on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. DA Davidson set a $425.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Group 1 Automotive from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $380.00 to $320.00 in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Five equities research 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.com, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $392.44.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $299.13 and its 200-day moving average is $318.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GPI. First Horizon Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 40.5% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 118 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

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.