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

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) had its target price reduced by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $315.00 to $310.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target points to a potential upside of 5.72% from the company’s current price.

GPI has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley raised Group 1 Automotive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $200.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Guggenheim raised Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com lowered Group 1 Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $330.83.

Group 1 Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of GPI traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $293.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 45,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 141,974. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 6.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.38. Group 1 Automotive has a one year low of $214.25 and a one year high of $310.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $275.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $275.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $9.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.44 by ($0.94). The firm had revenue of $4.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.41 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 22.45% and a net margin of 3.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $10.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Group 1 Automotive will post 39.37 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Group 1 Automotive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GPI. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive by 159.6% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Planned Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Group 1 Automotive in the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. 99.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.