Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) PT Lowered to $315.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) had its price target reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $325.00 to $315.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on GPI. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Stephens restated an overweight rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $331.67.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $265.76 on Wednesday. Group 1 Automotive has a 52-week low of $214.25 and a 52-week high of $310.08. The company has a 50 day moving average of $272.31 and a 200 day moving average of $273.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.42.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.44 by ($0.94). The company had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.41 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 24.36% and a net margin of 3.34%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $10.86 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.47 dividend. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 4.41%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GPI. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 44.3% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 176 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Group 1 Automotive

Group 1 Automotive, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates in the automotive retail industry in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company sells new and used cars, light trucks, and vehicle parts, as well as service and insurance contracts; arranges related vehicle financing; and offers automotive maintenance and repair services.