2,600 Shares in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) Purchased by Arosa Capital Management LP

Arosa Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,000. Group 1 Automotive accounts for about 0.4% of Arosa Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GPI. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased 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 worth $190,004,000 after buying an additional 115,143 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 407,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,253,000 after purchasing an additional 232,846 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Group 1 Automotive by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 152,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,576,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 18.1% in the second 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 during the period. Finally, Shellback Capital LP lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 27.1% during the second 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 in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens started coverage on shares of 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 raised Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $425.20.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 0.5 %

GPI stock opened at $425.80 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $382.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $347.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $255.73 and a 1-year high of $440.32. The firm has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 1.33.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.87 by $0.03. The firm 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 18.49%. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $12.07 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.37 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.