HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 45.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,436 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,271 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $2,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 6.7% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Arosa Capital Management LP bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $996,000. Atom Investors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at approximately $304,000. Paloma Partners Management Co bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth $415,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 3,663.1% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 55,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,174,000 after buying an additional 53,811 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $428.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $255.73 and a fifty-two week high of $440.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $383.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $347.81. The company has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 1.35.

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. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $12.07 EPS. Analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

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

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.