Cynosure Group LLC Purchases New Stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Cynosure Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $367,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in GPI. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,011,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 133.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 407,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,253,000 after buying an additional 232,846 shares during the period. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at about $215,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 7,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,029,000 after buying an additional 2,949 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Group 1 Automotive by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 28,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,856,000 after acquiring an additional 6,842 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GPI. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $425.20.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI opened at $427.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50-day moving average of $380.89 and a 200-day moving average of $345.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.00. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $255.73 and a 1-year high of $440.32.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.87 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. Group 1 Automotive’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $12.07 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 9.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,340,928.59. The trade was a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

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.