Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Lifted to “Buy” at Guggenheim

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) was upgraded by research analysts at Guggenheim from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $305.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 14.14% from the stock’s previous close.

GPI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $200.00 to $255.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com cut Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $331.67.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI stock traded down $2.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $267.22. 54,011 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 133,177. The company has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $272.36 and its 200 day moving average is $273.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.33. Group 1 Automotive has a 12-month low of $214.25 and a 12-month high of $310.08.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.44 by ($0.94). The business had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.41 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 24.36% and a net margin of 3.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $10.86 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.92 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Group 1 Automotive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 47.5% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 15,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,082,000 after purchasing an additional 4,844 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. increased its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 11.0% in the third quarter. Burney Co. now owns 70,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,832,000 after purchasing an additional 6,946 shares during the last quarter. Covalis Capital LLP acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth $16,330,000. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth $12,703,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter worth $2,770,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

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.