Empowered Funds LLC Decreases Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI

Empowered Funds LLC decreased its position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,731 shares of the company’s stock after selling 590 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.07% of Group 1 Automotive worth $3,813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of GPI. Advent International L.P. lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Advent International L.P. now owns 235,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,833,000 after buying an additional 31,244 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 1st quarter valued at about $74,499,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 1.8% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 180,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,973,000 after purchasing an additional 3,277 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.3% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 114,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,503,000 after purchasing an additional 38,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1,287.8% in the second quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 102,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,544,000 after purchasing an additional 94,650 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.34, for a total value of $3,285,380.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 82,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,939,731.78. This represents a 7.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI opened at $399.73 on Friday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $355.91 and a 12-month high of $490.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 13.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $421.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $435.04.

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

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 11th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 10.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 7.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on GPI. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $510.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $435.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $478.88.

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.