FORA Capital LLC Reduces Stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

FORA Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) by 63.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,261 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,214 shares during the quarter. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in Group 1 Automotive were worth $483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 51.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Group 1 Automotive by 53.7% in the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Group 1 Automotive in the second quarter worth approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total value of $29,546.79. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,340,928.59. This represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of GPI opened at $427.76 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a 1-year low of $255.73 and a 1-year high of $440.32. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $380.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $345.33.

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

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 12th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim boosted their price objective 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 note on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $425.20.

Group 1 Automotive Company 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.