Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) PT Lowered to $315.00

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) had its target price lowered by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $325.00 to $315.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 19.69% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on GPI. StockNews.com downgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Guggenheim raised Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $331.67.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

NYSE GPI opened at $263.17 on Wednesday. Group 1 Automotive has a one year low of $214.25 and a one year high of $310.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $272.19 and a 200 day moving average of $273.60. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.17, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $9.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.44 by ($0.94). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 24.36% and a net margin of 3.34%. The business had revenue of $4.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $10.86 earnings per share. Group 1 Automotive’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.97 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GPI. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 27,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,597,000 after buying an additional 2,755 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 55.6% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after buying an additional 3,257 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 14,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,489,000 after buying an additional 1,147 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at about $727,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter valued at about $202,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Company 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.