Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) Announces Earnings Results

Group 1 Automotive (NYSE:GPI) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $9.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.36 by $0.44, Yahoo Finance reports. The firm had revenue of $4.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.68 billion. Group 1 Automotive had a net margin of 3.03% and a return on equity of 20.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $11.73 EPS.

Group 1 Automotive Price Performance

GPI stock traded down $3.93 during trading on Friday, reaching $333.22. 146,313 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 135,477. The company has a 50-day moving average of $303.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $287.04. The company has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.35. Group 1 Automotive has a twelve month low of $228.84 and a twelve month high of $340.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Group 1 Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. Group 1 Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is 4.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on GPI shares. Guggenheim raised shares of Group 1 Automotive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $315.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Group 1 Automotive from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $329.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.63, for a total value of $412,482.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,398,557.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Group 1 Automotive news, VP Michael David Jones sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.63, for a total value of $412,482.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,535 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,398,557.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Edward Mckissic sold 170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.92, for a total transaction of $54,216.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,939,671.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,007 shares of company stock worth $1,221,218 in the last three months. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.