Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP Cuts Stock Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP cut its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,723 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,689 shares during the quarter. Group 1 Automotive makes up about 1.6% of Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Smith Graham & Co. Investment Advisors LP owned approximately 0.32% of Group 1 Automotive worth $13,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GPI. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 159.6% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 54.6% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Amundi bought a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of GPI stock traded down $2.06 on Friday, hitting $268.51. The stock had a trading volume of 25,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 132,578. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 12-month low of $214.25 and a 12-month high of $310.08. The business has a 50 day moving average of $272.23 and a 200 day moving average of $273.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.42.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.44 by ($0.94). The company had revenue of $4.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.41 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 3.34% and a return on equity of 24.36%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $10.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.87 EPS for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This is an increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on GPI. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st.

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.