15,400 Shares in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Bought by De Lisle Partners LLP

De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 15,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,901,000. Group 1 Automotive comprises 1.0% of De Lisle Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. De Lisle Partners LLP owned about 0.12% of Group 1 Automotive at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 33.2% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 1,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at $367,000. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,011,000. FMR LLC grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 407,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,253,000 after acquiring an additional 232,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter worth about $215,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Guggenheim upped 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. 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 report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $425.20.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:GPI opened at $427.76 on Thursday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $255.73 and a 52 week high of $440.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $379.99 and its 200-day moving average is $344.75. The firm has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 1.33.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $12.07 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 12th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Group 1 Automotive 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.