Group 1 Automotive, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.47 (NYSE:GPI)

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 12th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.47 per share on Monday, December 16th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%.

Group 1 Automotive has increased its dividend by an average of 44.2% annually over the last three years. Group 1 Automotive has a dividend payout ratio of 4.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Group 1 Automotive to earn $40.01 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 4.7%.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPI traded up $11.12 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $416.89. The company had a trading volume of 12,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,602. Group 1 Automotive has a 12 month low of $255.73 and a 12 month high of $420.30. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $368.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $336.51.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $9.90 EPS 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 firm earned $12.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive will post 38.6 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity at Group 1 Automotive

In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,200 shares of Group 1 Automotive stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total transaction of $421,188.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,742 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,419,344.58. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total transaction of $421,188.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,742 shares in the company, valued at $3,419,344.58. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Edward Mckissic sold 79 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,259 shares in the company, valued at $2,340,928.59. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.