Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Makes New $1.01 Million Investment in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,011,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the second quarter valued at approximately $452,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 639,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,004,000 after purchasing an additional 115,143 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 40,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,052,000 after purchasing an additional 3,095 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth $3,286,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 327.0% during the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 15,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,596,000 after buying an additional 11,839 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI stock opened at $433.74 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $255.73 and a 12-month high of $440.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $377.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $342.90. The company has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 1.33.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $12.07 EPS. Analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on GPI. 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 note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $425.20.

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.