Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Price Target Cut to $310.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) had its target price decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $315.00 to $310.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on GPI. Guggenheim raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Group 1 Automotive from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Stephens reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $330.83.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE:GPI traded up $2.51 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $295.04. The stock had a trading volume of 101,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 162,679. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.97, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.38. Group 1 Automotive has a twelve month low of $214.25 and a twelve month high of $310.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $276.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $276.47.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.44 by ($0.94). Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 22.45%. The company had revenue of $4.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.41 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $10.86 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive will post 39.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.47 dividend. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 4.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,400 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.63, for a total value of $412,482.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,398,557.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the fourth quarter worth about $46,923,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth about $24,562,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $21,296,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 12.5% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 574,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,390,000 after buying an additional 63,726 shares during the period. Finally, Covalis Capital LLP acquired a new position in Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter valued at approximately $16,330,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.