Cynosure Group LLC Makes New Investment in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Cynosure Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $367,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at $204,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 5.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,765,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 2.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,109,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 73.5% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 1,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 9,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,960,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GPI opened at $427.76 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $380.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $345.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $255.73 and a 52-week high of $440.32.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $12.07 EPS. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is 5.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $425.20.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

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.