Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $227.50 and last traded at $227.1450, with a volume of 30,243 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $229.64.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp set a $425.00 price objective on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $330.00 to $271.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $365.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $275.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $341.67.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 1.3%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $259.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $299.94. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.52, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $9.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.60 by ($0.99). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 15.66% and a net margin of 1.31%. The company had revenue of $5.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $10.82 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.36 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.16%.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, major shareholder Conifer Management, L.L.C. bought 133,472 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $243.58 per share, for a total transaction of $32,511,109.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,772,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $431,635,939. This trade represents a 8.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 720,030 shares of company stock valued at $187,264,264. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GPI. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 112.0% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $81,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc is an international automotive retailer that operates franchised automobile dealerships. The company sells new and used vehicles from a range of manufacturers and provides related automotive services, including vehicle maintenance and repairs, parts and accessories, financing, and insurance products.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, Group 1 Automotive serves customers through dealership operations in the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as other international markets.