Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Upgraded to Buy at Guggenheim

Guggenheim upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. Guggenheim currently has $305.00 price target on the stock.

GPI has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Stephens restated an overweight rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Group 1 Automotive from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and boosted their price target for the company from $200.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $331.67.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

NYSE GPI opened at $265.76 on Wednesday. Group 1 Automotive has a one year low of $214.25 and a one year high of $310.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $272.31 and a 200 day moving average of $273.68. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.23, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $9.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.44 by ($0.94). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 24.36% and a net margin of 3.34%. The business had revenue of $4.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $10.86 earnings per share. Group 1 Automotive’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.97 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 4.41%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GPI. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 44.3% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 176 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Group 1 Automotive

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.