Islay Capital Management LLC Takes $1.26 Million Position in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI)

Islay Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,256,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 7.9% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Group 1 Automotive by 6.9% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $802,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the first quarter valued at about $1,037,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 1,452.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 559 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. Finally, PAX Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Group 1 Automotive during the 1st quarter worth about $650,000. Institutional investors own 99.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $430.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $394.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $420.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Group 1 Automotive from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Group 1 Automotive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.01, for a total transaction of $29,546.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of Group 1 Automotive stock opened at $414.81 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $371.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $339.02. Group 1 Automotive, Inc. has a twelve month low of $255.73 and a twelve month high of $422.28. 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 (NYSE:GPI) last released 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 company had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 2.68%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $12.07 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Group 1 Automotive, Inc. will post 38.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Group 1 Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 5.01%.

Group 1 Automotive declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program 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 programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.