Group 1 Automotive, Inc. $GPI Shares Acquired by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,482 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,233 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $21,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at approximately $75,315,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $70,561,000. Man Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 2nd quarter valued at $17,959,000. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 114,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,503,000 after buying an additional 38,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covalis Capital LLP acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 2nd quarter worth $13,028,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on GPI. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Barclays set a $470.00 target price on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $460.00 price objective on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $466.57.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 0.7%

GPI opened at $333.56 on Friday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $328.85 and a 52 week high of $490.09. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $388.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $415.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a PE ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 0.90.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.36 by ($0.87). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 1.44% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The company had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $10.02 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.00%.

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

Group 1 Automotive Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc (NYSE: GPI) is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company operates an extensive network of franchised dealerships, offering new and pre-owned vehicles from leading domestic and import manufacturers. In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides a full complement of aftersales services, including finance and insurance products, parts distribution, collision repair centers and vehicle maintenance.

Founded in 1997, Group 1 Automotive has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a presence across the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.