JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trims Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Target Price to $310.00

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

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on GPI. Guggenheim upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Stephens reissued an overweight rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut Group 1 Automotive from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $200.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $330.83.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:GPI traded up $2.51 on Thursday, reaching $295.04. The company had a trading volume of 101,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 162,679. Group 1 Automotive has a 52-week low of $214.25 and a 52-week high of $310.08. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $276.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $276.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 6.97, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last announced its quarterly 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $10.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. This is a boost from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 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 dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.63, for a total transaction of $412,482.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,398,557.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,923,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at about $24,562,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at about $21,296,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 12.5% in the 3rd 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 shares of Group 1 Automotive in the 3rd quarter valued at about $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.