Jefferies Financial Group Begins Coverage on Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI)

Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 17.65% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on GPI. Guggenheim increased their price target on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens assumed coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $437.67.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE GPI opened at $425.00 on Friday. Group 1 Automotive has a 12 month low of $255.73 and a 12 month high of $440.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $391.31 and a 200-day moving average of $353.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 1.35.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $12.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive announced that its board has authorized 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 purchase up to 9.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the second quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 20.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 264 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 99.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.