Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Stock Falls 5.2% – Time to Sell?

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)’s share price dropped 5.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $231.50 and last traded at $230.3640. 90,251 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 199,157 shares. The stock had previously closed at $243.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Seaport Research Partners set a $420.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson set a $425.00 price objective on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $300.00 to $232.00 in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Evercore set a $360.00 target price on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $330.00 to $271.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $341.67.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 5.5%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $257.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $297.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.92.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.60 by ($0.99). The firm had revenue of $5.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.66 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 1.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.82 EPS. Analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 37.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.16%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. purchased 133,472 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $243.58 per share, for a total transaction of $32,511,109.76. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,772,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $431,635,939. This trade represents a 8.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 720,030 shares of company stock worth $187,264,264. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GPI. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at approximately $593,420,000. Conifer Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth $281,561,390. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 688,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,612,000 after buying an additional 10,100 shares in the last quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $72,098,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter worth $57,174,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Group 1 Automotive

Group 1 Automotive, Inc is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company operates dealerships that sell new and used automobiles and light trucks from a broad range of manufacturers.

In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides automotive financing and insurance products, vehicle maintenance and repair, collision services, replacement parts, and other related services. Its dealerships also market vehicles through digital retailing platforms.

Founded in 1997, Group 1 Automotive serves customers through a network of dealerships and automotive service locations in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brazil.