JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Stock Price

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) had its price objective lowered by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $425.00 to $420.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target suggests a potential downside of 6.22% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on GPI. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim upped their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $436.83.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.7 %

GPI opened at $447.84 on Friday. Group 1 Automotive has a 1 year low of $255.73 and a 1 year high of $449.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $422.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $376.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.36.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.87 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $12.07 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.36 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total transaction of $2,560,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at $42,013,899.56. This trade 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 is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 267 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 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.