Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Guggenheim Analyst Says

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) had its price target upped by stock analysts at Guggenheim from $420.00 to $442.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Guggenheim’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 8.79% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on GPI. Morgan Stanley upgraded Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $425.20.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE:GPI traded up $4.56 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $406.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 170,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,991. The business’s fifty day moving average is $375.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $340.96. The stock has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85 and a beta of 1.33. Group 1 Automotive has a 1 year low of $255.73 and a 1 year high of $422.28. 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 (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.87 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. Group 1 Automotive’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $12.07 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 8.2% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $504,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 0.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 305,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,080,000 after buying an additional 1,985 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 244.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 56,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,573,000 after buying an additional 39,982 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 20.0% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 7.4% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,424,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.