NBC Securities Inc. Takes Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of GPI. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at $66,000. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 43,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,371,000 after acquiring an additional 1,025 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 32,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,533,000 after purchasing an additional 3,986 shares during the period. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $495.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $463.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Guggenheim cut Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $454.43.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In related news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,613 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.57, for a total value of $654,184.41. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,350,008.20. This trade represents a 16.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $442.59 on Wednesday. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $279.86 and a 52-week high of $490.09. The company has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $415.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $427.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $10.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.68 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $5.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.37 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 41 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.61%.

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.