Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (GPI) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.55 on March 16th

Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:GPI) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.55 per share on Monday, March 16th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This is a 10.0% increase from Group 1 Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50.

Group 1 Automotive has raised its dividend by an average of 0.3%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Group 1 Automotive has a payout ratio of 4.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Group 1 Automotive to earn $44.83 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 4.5%.

Group 1 Automotive Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:GPI opened at $335.81 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $389.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $416.41. Group 1 Automotive has a 1 year low of $331.59 and a 1 year high of $490.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.25.

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $8.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.36 by ($0.87). Group 1 Automotive had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 1.44%.The company had revenue of $5.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $10.02 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Group 1 Automotive will post 41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on GPI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Group 1 Automotive from $410.00 to $370.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Evercore initiated coverage on Group 1 Automotive in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays set a $470.00 target price on shares of Group 1 Automotive in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $466.57.

Group 1 Automotive Company Profile

Group 1 Automotive, Inc (NYSE: GPI) is an international automotive retailer headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company operates an extensive network of franchised dealerships, offering new and pre-owned vehicles from leading domestic and import manufacturers. In addition to vehicle sales, Group 1 Automotive provides a full complement of aftersales services, including finance and insurance products, parts distribution, collision repair centers and vehicle maintenance.

Founded in 1997, Group 1 Automotive has grown through both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a presence across the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.