Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Acquires New Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 2,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,011,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the first quarter valued at approximately $204,000. BOKF NA purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter worth $287,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,765,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 2.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,109,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Finally, Woodson Capital Management LP increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 114.6% during the first quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP now owns 142,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,643,000 after purchasing an additional 76,102 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE GPI opened at $433.74 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The business’s 50 day moving average is $377.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $342.90. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $255.73 and a 52-week high of $440.32. The firm has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 1.33.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.87 by $0.03. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $12.07 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on GPI. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Stephens began coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $425.20.

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.