Vise Technologies Inc. Buys Shares of 1,159 Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $506,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. Elequin Capital LP bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the first quarter worth $29,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 90.5% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 80 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 25.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at about $115,000. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Barclays started coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $510.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $560.00 to $545.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $478.88.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 0.1%

GPI stock opened at $391.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.06. The business’s 50-day moving average is $430.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $435.61. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $355.91 and a fifty-two week high of $490.09.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $10.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.64 by ($0.19). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The firm had revenue of $5.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.00%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 10.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total transaction of $3,285,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 82,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,939,731.78. The trade was a 7.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.