Forum Financial Management LP Makes New $229,000 Investment in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,004,000 after acquiring an additional 115,143 shares in the last quarter. Woodson Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 114.6% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 57.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 63,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,222,000 after purchasing an additional 23,051 shares in the last quarter. Shellback Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 27.1% in the 2nd quarter. Shellback Capital LP now owns 95,302 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,331,000 after buying an additional 20,302 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 108,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,255,000 after buying an additional 16,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $375.83 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of 10.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $365.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $332.41. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $255.73 and a 1-year high of $393.93.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.87 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $12.07 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 2nd were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPI has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 target price on the stock. 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.80.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total value of $421,188.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,419,344.58. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.