Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Price Target Raised to $495.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $420.00 to $495.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on GPI. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $460.00 price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Group 1 Automotive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $460.33.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $481.64 on Friday. Group 1 Automotive has a 52 week low of $258.77 and a 52 week high of $490.09. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $439.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $397.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $6.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 1.36.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported $10.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.77 by $1.25. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 2.47% and a return on equity of 18.25%. On average, equities analysts predict that Group 1 Automotive will post 40.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Group 1 Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is 5.12%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lincoln Pereira sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $426.68, for a total transaction of $2,560,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 98,467 shares in the company, valued at $42,013,899.56. The trade was a 5.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPI. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 87.6% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 33.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,464,000 after acquiring an additional 949 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter worth $345,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 43.7% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 388 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Group 1 Automotive by 14.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 46,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,805,000 after acquiring an additional 5,942 shares in the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.