Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,370,000 shares, a decrease of 12.7% from the January 15th total of 1,570,000 shares. Currently, 10.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 134,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 10.2 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total value of $2,560,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 98,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,013,899.56. This represents a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GPI. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 119.4% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 68 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 0.6 %

Group 1 Automotive stock traded down $2.71 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $478.60. The stock had a trading volume of 92,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 132,532. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $440.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $398.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a PE ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 1.36. Group 1 Automotive has a 12 month low of $258.77 and a 12 month high of $490.09. 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 (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 2.47%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive will post 40.86 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.12%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPI has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $495.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $460.33.

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.